I!) MMIIIIimmiUUUUDHIIIIIKillMIMIIIIIIIIIIIII 


Division. -^sCf.rr 
Section i.*5„./    ( 
No,™ _  . 


4-40 


fntit^ttiuaUt? 


fntittJitiualit? 

flDt:  Cl^e  apojStoUc  Ctwelfae  Before  anD 
aftet;  pmttco^t 


Stutboi  of  "%mi  ®allijJ  toitl)  CfcilScen"  antt  '"SBikte  Atutiie* 
foe  tbe  l^omc" 


I 


Cintinnati :  Cttrte  anU  Jcnnfnffg 

il^ieto  porifc:  (J^aton  anU  fSlainn 

1899 


COPYKIGHT  1899,   BY 
THB  WESTERN  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 


Contentjj 


Page 

I  Individuality 9 

II  The  Composite  Church 23 

III  Impulse 35 

IV  The  Impulsive  Type  of  Christianity      -       -  51 
V  The  Temptations  of  Impulse        -       -       -       -  67 

VI  Spirit-filled  Impulse          81 

VII  Affection 99 

VIII  The  Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity       -       -  115 

IX  The  Temptations  of  Affection    -       -       -       -  131 

X  Spirit-filled  Affection 145 

XI  Intellect 163 

XII  The  Intellectual  Type  of  Christianity      -  179 

XIII  The  Temptations  of  Intellect    -       -       -       -  193 

XIV  Spirit-filled  Intellect 209 

XV  Administrative  Ability 225 

XVI  The  Administrative  Type  of  Christianity  -  243 

XVII  The  Temptations  of  Administration         -       -  257 

XVIII  Spirit-filled  Administrative  Ability    -       -  273 

XIX  "  Be  Filled  w^ith  THE  Spirit  "       -       -       -       -  287 

5 


fntitoitiualit^ 


s  i 

Few  overcome  their  temperamental  inclinations.  j 

— Sir  T.  Browne.  I 

Individuality  is  not  individualism.     The  latter  refers*  | 

everything  to  self,  and  sees  nothing  but  self  in  all  things.  ^ 

— Fleming,  Travis,  of  Vinet.  \ 


As  a  certain  vein  runs  through  a  geological 
formation,  so  a  certain  disposition  runs  through 
a  human  mind.  You  can  not  expel  it.  It  must 
be  recognized  and  dealt  with.  Certain  tempera- 
mental types  have  long  been  recognized  in  hu- 
man nature.  There  is  a  nervous  temperament; 
a  sanguine  temperament ;  a  dull  phlegmatic  tem- 
perament; a  melancholy  temperament.  As  the 
alphabet  may  be  broken  up  into  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  words  by  the  adjustment  of  letters  dif- 
ferently, so  the  primary  qualities  that  inhere  in 
human  nature  may  come  down  and  spell  out  the 
different  individualities  of  different  men,  as  they 
actually  do ;  and  by  reason  of  this,  men  are  of  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  endowment,  some  having  one 
gift  and  some  another. 

I.  Every  man  must  recognize  his  own  indi- 
viduality. But  what  does  this  seven-syllabled 
word  signify?  Dictionary  men  define  it  as  "sepa- 
rateness  of  being."  Man  is  individual  in  his  sepa- 
rateness  from  all  others;  complete  in  himself. 
Paul  recognized  this  fact.  ''I,  yet  not  I,"  was 
characteristic  of  Paul.  He  knew  himself.  He 
did  not  ignore  himself.  In  his  life,  as  a  man  and 
as  an  apostle,  he  took  the  proportions  of  his  own 

9 


lo  Individuality 


personality ;  and  at  the  same  time  confessed  that 
all  the  operative  grace  came  from  God.  And  the 
practical  aim  of  each  man  should  be  to  perfect 
his  own  variety,  not  ape  another's.  No  two  peo- 
ple were  ever  meant  to  render  the  same  service. 
A  Luther  could  not  be  a  Melanchthon.  By  no 
means  could  the  apostle  Thomas  be  made  into  a 
Simon  Peter. 

Variety  is  everywhere  a  condition  of  strength 
and  beauty.  We  need  men  of  science  and  men 
of  action  to  reduce  their  thoughts  to  practice; 
some  to  give  strong  and  noble  impulses,  and 
others  to  apply  the  check  of  caution  and  experi- 
ence ;  some  to  bear  us  aloft  to  the  world  of  fancy, 
others  to  detain  us  among  the  hard  realities  of 
life.  So  in  the  highest  region  of  all,  the  same 
manifoldness  is  seen.  The  story  of  no  two  souls 
is  exactly  alike.  In  some  there  is  a  burning  en- 
thusiasm ;  in  others,  a  holy  quiet.  One  is  all  ac- 
tivity and  daring ;  another,  like  Mary,  loves  to  sit 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  One  is  a  Boanerges;  an- 
other is  a  Barnabas.  One  is  ''apt  to  teach ;"  "an- 
other possesses  an  eloquent  tongue;  another, 
scholarly  tastes  and  aptitudes ;  another,  business 
qualities;  another,  musical  talents;  another,  ad- 
ministrative power;  another,  the  genius  of  sym- 
pathy ;  another,  the  gift  of  social  leadership :  and 
thus  the  whole  circle  of  Christian  service  is  em- 
braced, and  the  Church  is  enabled  to  edify  herself 


btdividualiiy  1 1 


in  love,  and  to  fulfill  her  work  of  ministry  to  the 
world."  Each  man  should  make  the  best  pos- 
sible use  of  what  he  has.  He  should  be  himself; 
he  should  act  out  himself;  he  should  find  the 
ideal  of  his  life  in  the  Divine  idea  expressed  in 
his  nature;  he  should  strive  to  be  the  man  that 
God  meant  him  to  be,  and  to  do  the  work  that 
God  meant  him  to  do.  As  has  been  well  said, 
"Much  of  the  misery  of  life  comes  from  the 
round  man  trying  to  squeeze  himself  into  the 
square  hole,  and  the  square  man  into  the  round 
hole." 

Individuality  Is  Indestructible.  Be  yourself — 
that  is  the  Divine  will.  Every  man  Is  to  season 
his  sacrifice  according  to  his  individuality, — in 
other  words,  mark  his  labor  by  his  own  image 
and  superscription,  so  that  it  is  his  labor  express- 
ively and  exclusively;  it  bears  upon  it  the  touch 
of  his  own  soul.  An  unlearned  man  once  said : 
''There  Is  very  little  difference  between  one  man 
and  another ;  but  what  little  there  Is,  Is  very  im- 
portant.''^ 

Individuality  is  a  man^s  power.  It  gives  char- 
acter to  his  acts,  his  thoughts,  his  writings. 

2.  The  individualities  of  personal  character 
are  In  no  wise  destroyed  by  the  new  life  under 
the  gospel.  If  Christ  be  In  you,  In  an  Important 
sense — but  In  a  spiritual  sense  alone — you  afe 
"'a  new  creature."     Grace  does  not  put  a  mask 


12  Individuality 


on  a  man  so  that  his  individuality  can  not  be  rec- 
ognized. Dr.  William  M.  Taylor  says:  "Your 
features  are  the  same,  though  sweetened  or 
calmed,  perhaps,  by  the  peace  of  God  that  reigns 
in  your  heart ;  your  intellect  is  the  same,  though 
quickened  by  the  new  Ufe  of  faith  and  hope.  If 
cheerful,  you  still  are  cheerful ;  and  if  born  with 
tendencies  to  melancholy,  you  will  still  contend 
with  the  temptation  to  despondency." 

Religion  does  not  merge  or  diminish  our  in- 
dividuality. Has  nature  given  genius?  She  sus- 
tains and  sanctifies  its  peculiarities.  Is  the  philo- 
sophic faculty  there?  Its  range  is  widened,  its 
vigor  increased.  Is  the  poet  in  the  man?  The 
gospel  brings  both  spark  and  fuel  to  the  poetic 
flame.  Far  from  antagonizing  our  idiosyncrasy, 
it  operates  on  some  men  as  did  Moses'  rod  on 
Horeb's  rock,  unfolding  energies  that  slumbered 
within,  unknown  to  themselves,  unthought  of  by 
others.  Archbishop  Trench  remarks :  "The  nat- 
ural is  the  ground  upon  which  the  spiritual  is 
superinduced,  and  grace  does  not  dissolve  the 
groundwork  of  the  individual  character,  nor 
abolish  all  its  peculiarities,  nor  bring  all  that  are 
subject  to  it  to  a  common  standard." 

The  gospel  individualizes  the  man.  Paul, 
after  his  conversion,  was  just  as  earnest  and  driv- 
ing as  before.  Peter  left  his  boats  and  tackle 
to  become  the  skillful  fisher  of  men,  with  the 


Individuality  •  13 


same  adroitness  and  patient  business  absorption 
put  into  his  fresh  profession.  So  John  was  the 
same  affectionate  John  to  the  last.  Naturalness 
is  one  of  the  best  evidences  of  grace,  for  it  ex- 
cludes assumption  and  hypocrisy. 

There  is  nothing,  then,  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  which  is  meant  to  obliterate  the  lines  of 
the  strongly-marked  individuality  which  each  re- 
ceives by  nature.  Rather  the  gospel  is  meant  to 
heighten  and  deepen  these,  and  to  make  each 
man  more  intensely  himself,  more  thoroughly 
individual,  and  unlike  anybody  else.  This  is  the 
Lord's  way  with  his  own  throughout.  While 
they  are  all  taken  up  with  him  into  "heavenly 
places,"  there  is  no  dead  monotony  of  character 
produced;  each  wears  a  grace  peculiar  to  him- 
self; each  is  Christlike  after  his  own  order. 
Christ  in  us;  and  yet  we  more  ourselves.  The 
more  "self"  and  the  less  "self"  there  is  in  any 
man,  the  nobler  he  is.  This  sounds  paradoxical ; 
but  man  himself  is  a  paradox. 

3.  This  distinctive  individuality  is  recognized 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  work.  Spirit-filled  in- 
dividuality is  God's  method.  Many  suppose 
that,  if  religion  is  the  work  of  God,  it  is  the  same 
in  everybody.  You  might  as  well  say  that  if 
flowers  are  the  work  of  God,  flowers  are  the  same 
everywhere.  In  point  of  fact,  they  are  alike  no- 
where— they  are  varied  endlessly.    And  there  is 


14  Individuality 


nothing  truer  than  that  every  man's  religion  is 
relative  to  what  he  is  by  his  religious  organiza- 
A'  tion.  ''Religion,  like  water,  partakes  a  little  of 
the  nature  of  the  soil  over  which  it  runs."  To 
adopt  the  beautiful  figure  of  Cyril  of  Jerusalem, 
*'One  and  the  same  rain  comes  down  upon  all  the 
earth,  yet  it  becomes  white  in  the  lily,  and  red  in 
the  rose,  and  purple  in  the  violets  and  pansies, 
and  different  and  various  in  all  the  several  kinds. 
It  is  one  thing  in  the  palm-tree,  and  another  in 
the  vine,  and  all  in  all  things.  Thus  also  the 
Holy  Spirit,  one  and  uniform  and  undivided  in 
himself,  distributes  his  grace  to  every  man  as  he 
wills." 

Thus  individuality  colors  the  Spirit's  gifts. 
Accordingly,  all  through  the  Book  of  Acts  and 
in  all  the  Epistles,  we  find  that  wherever  the  gos- 
pel was  preached,  all  were  told  that  they  were  to 
receive  the  Holy  Spirit.  All  Christians  were 
baptized  with  power;  but  the  Spirit  in  them 
showed  himself  in  different  ways.  He  inspired 
some  of  them  with  knowledge,  helping  them  to 
a  clear  sight  of  truth.  He  inspired  some  of  them 
with  wisdom,  helping  them  to  see  what  was  the 
best  thing  to  be  done  in  any  emergency.  He 
inspired  some  of  them  with  faith,  enabling  them 
to  feel  the  presence  and  love  of  God  amid  be- 
reavement, loneliness,  bitter  disappointment,  and 
sharp  trial.     He  inspired  some  of  them  to  be 


Individuality  15 


good  physicians,  tender  and  careful  nurses  of  the 
sick.  If  they  saw  a  woman  who  had  a  gift  of 
healing,  they  said,  "She  is  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  heal  disease,  as  the  apostle  Paul  is  in- 
spired to  preach."  Gifts  were  special,  but  the 
inspiration  was  universal;  one  and  the  same  for 
all,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 

No  man  is  left  to  himself  to  invent  his  own  re- 
ligion, and  to  have  everything  according  to  his 
own  way  of  thinking.  This  is  the  marvelous  ap- 
parent contradiction  of  the  Divine  testimony — 
indwiduality,  but  under  Divine  inspiration;  "Di- 
vine inspiration  accommodating  itself  to  indi- 
vidual capacities,  but  all  the  time  preserving  a 
central  and  unchangeable  substance."  And  the 
glory  of  God's  great  work  in  all  souls  in  all  ages 
lies  in  this — not  that  the  powers,  wishes,  and  pas- 
sions of  the  actors  themselves  were  petrified  into 
a  lifeless  uniformity,  and  the  superseding  life 
from  heaven  took  their  place,  but  rather  that, 
using  as  his  instruments  men  so  weak  and  per- 
verse, he  built  with  them  the  Church  of  God. 

This  explains  the  marked  difiference  in  the 
writings  of  different  men  in  the  Scriptures. 
"Men  spake  from  God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  And  yet  inspiration  did  not  overlook 
or  override  the  individuality  of  the  human  agents 
whom  it  employed,  but  made  use  of  it,  allowing 
them  to  speak  with  their  own  accent,  and  to 


1 6  Individuality 


think  in  accordance  with  the  peculiarities  of  their 
minds.  Hence  Peter  becomes  the  apostle  of 
Hope;  John  the  apostle  of  Love;  James  the 
apostle  of  Wisdom. 

In  the  Church,  likewise,  we  find  different 
types  of  workers.  There  are  men  who  stand 
upon  the  watch-tower  and  point  to  Christ ;  there 
are  men  full  of  fire ;  there  are  men  of  surrendered 
intellects;  and  last,  but  not  least,  there  are  the 
plodding  men  who  never  do  anything  out  of  the 
way,  but  nevertheless  do  a  great  deal  of  neces- 
sary work.  Some  of  the  most  beautiful  effects 
of  faith  have  often  been  wrought  out  in  retiring 
characters.  Thus,  in  every  age,  the  Church  has 
had  its  practical  workers,  men  full  of  spiritual 
earnestness  and  power — its  dauntless  and  fervid 
preachers;  its  Chrysostoms,Whitefields,  Baxters, 
Wesleys ;  its  apologists;  its  men  of  broad  intellect- 
ual views;  its  teachers;  its  controversialists;  its 
Augustines,  Luthers,  Pascals,  Butlers;  its  con- 
iemplative,  spiritual  men — men  full  of  goodness 
and  practical  solicitude,  ''charity  in  them  tri- 
umphantly reigning  over  knowledge,  and 
tongues,  and  prophesying" — such  were  Bernard, 
Fenelon,  Melanchthon,  Fletcher  of  Madeley, 
Watts,  and  Doddridge. 

We  should  learn  to  admire  the  grace  of  God 
in  all  its  manifestations.  "God  fulfills  himself  in 
many  ways ;"  there  is  room  in  the  Church  for  all 


Individuality  17 


temperaments;  her  true  aim  as  a  Church  is  to 
follow  up  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  not  to  attempt 
to  manufacture  Christians  after  a  single  ex- 
emplar, but  rather  to  take  what  is  strongest  and 
best  in  the  character  of  each,  and  to  make  it  do 
service  to  God;  ''not  to  crush  the  enthusiasm  out 
of  a  St.  Paul,  or  the  independent  thought  out  of 
an  Augustine,  or  the  artistic  power  out  of  a  Fra 
Angelico,  or  the  poetry  out  of  a  Milton,  or  the 
scientific  spirit  out  of  a  Livingstone,  but  to  turn 
their  special  gifts  to  God's  ends,  and  consecrate 
them  to  all  holy  purposes."  God,  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  brooding  over  each  individuality  as  the  Great 
Musician.  He  can  bring  out  the  music  that  is 
wanted.  He  can  enable  you  to  furnish  some 
strain  that  would  be  lacking  in  the  ears  of  God, 
if  your  particular  soul  did  not  bring  it ;  if  you  did 
not  strike  your  string,  nor  touch  your  key. 

4.  Our  Ivord  chose  the  Twelve  possessing  dif- 
ferent temperaments.  He  did  it  purposely.  He 
did  it  because  the  leading  characteristics  of  the 
gospel  were  to  be  exhibited  in  these  twelve  men ; 
they  were  to  be  the  representatives  and  helpers 
of  all  the  diverse  and  many-colored  tempera- 
ments which  hereafter  should  be  found  in  the 
Church;  their  selection,  therefore,  was  a  matter 
of  vast  importance.  Because  Christ  himself  was 
so  truly  and  deeply  the  Wonderful,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  his  witnesses,  who  were  also  to  be  the 


1 8  Individuality 


future  organs  of  his  Spirit,  should  be  men  of 
broadly  varied  natures — not  copies  one  of  an- 
other, like  images  of  clay  cast  in  kindred  molds, 
but  differing  in  mental  constitution,  experience, 
spiritual  affinities,  and  faculty  of  vision.  No 
single  man  could  take  in  his  whole  image,  or 
apprehend,  in  its  completeness,  the  truth  re- 
vealed in  him;  and  therefore  the  ''chosen  wit- 
nesses'* were  many,  and  many-natured.  So  far 
as  we  can  see,  the  beautiful  figurative  language 
used  in  i  Corinthians  xii,  14-27,  is  also  com- 
pletely applicable  to  the  organism  of  the  apos- 
tolic circle.  There  are  many  gifts,  but  one  Spirit. 
But  when  the  results  are  before  us,  no  one  could 
venture  to  pronounce  which  of  the  Twelve  was 
the  most  fitted  for  the  grand  work  Christ  gave 
them  all  to  do.  Each  was  the  best  for  his  own 
work. 

The  author  of  the  following  words  is  un- 
known to  us :  "Interesting  is  it  to  study  the  nat- 
ural peculiarities  of  these  most  honored  of  the 
sons  of  men,  and  to  see  how  from  on  high  the 
Spirit  hallowed  their  idiosyncrasies,  and  mel- 
lowed the  fruits  of  their  experience.  To  ac- 
quaint ourselves  intimately  with  the  Galilean 
sailor,  brave  Imt  rash,  deeply  loving  l)ut  not 
deeply  thoughtful,  trained  on  the  seashore  in  a 
fisher's  hut,  and  whose  only  learning  was  the  law 


Individuality  19 


and  prophets,  and  the  holy  hymns  of  David  and 
the  rest,  which  as  a  boy  he  had  sung  in  his 
father's  boat,  making  the  rocks  echo  with  those 
holy  lays ;  and  then  to  form  a  friendship  with  the 
Cilician  tentmaker,  who  had  all  that  sailor's 
braveness  without  his  rashness — all  his  love,  but 
coupled  with  a  keener,  broader  intellect;  who 
had  read  Greek  as  well  as  Hebrew  poets  in  the 
city  of  Tarsus,  and  had  studied  the  rolls  of  Holy 
Writ  and  the  lore  of  Rabbis  at  Gamaliel's  feet. 
And  then  to  enter  the  still  more  spiritual  pres- 
ence of  that  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  the  tem- 
pestuous morning  of  whose  life  settled  down  into 
an  eventide  of  summer  calmness,  who  carried 
not  his  gentleness  to  the  breast  of  Jesus,  but 
found  it  there;  whose  eagle  eye  to  the  last 
blenched  not,  but  on  the  rocks  of  the  Patmos 
isle  let  in  light  and  glory  to  a  heart  of  dovelike 
tenderness." 

Anything  like  an  exact  notation  of  these  dif- 
ferences is  impossible.  They  are  individual  vari- 
eties. Each  has  much  in  common  with  the  rest. 
Not  one  has  anything  in  which  the  others  are 
totally  deficient.  A  larger  proportional  develop- 
ment of  some  one  quality  seems  the  chief  indi- 
vidual distinction.  All  the  three  apostles  just 
mentioned  were  zealous.  Peter  was  only  emi- 
nently so.     All  were  doctrinal;  Paul  was  only 


20  IndividMality 


eminently  so.  All  were  spiritual ;  John  was  only 
eminently  so.  Furthermore,  our  personality  will 
not  be  lost  in  heaven.  Each  Christian  worker 
will  be  recognized  individually.  A  great  multi- 
tude; yet  each  one  as  observable,  as  distinctly 
recognized,  as  greatly  celebrated,  as  if  in  all  ''the 
space  from  gate  to  gate,  and  from  hill  to  hill,"  he 
were  the  only  inhabitant. 


II 

Ci)e  Composite  Cljurcj^ 


Men  make  up  Man;   Churches  make  up  the  Church; 

Truths  make  up  Truth ;  and  it  is  only  by  a  complete  com- 
bination of  the  parts  that  the  majesty  and  luster  of  the 
whole  can  be  secured.  —Joseph  Parker ^  D.  D. 


Cl^e  Compositte  €^mt^ 

1.  That  the  intention  of  Jesus  was  to  found 
a  Church  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  calling  of 
the  apostles.  After  a  night  of  prayer,  he  chooses 
the  Twelve,  whom  he  designs  to  employ  in  an 
especial  manner  as  his  ambassadors.  Up  to  this 
time  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  was  set  up.  But  from  that  moment  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  revealed  in  miniature,  as  it 
has  stood  before  the  world  for  eighteen  centuries. 
The  Apostolic  Twelve,  so  to  speak,  are  the  nor- 
mal representation  of  primitive  Christianity — of 
the  Church  which  saw  Christ  face  to  face,  which 
directly  heard  his  voice,  and  received  from  him 
the  great  commission  of  preserving  his  memory 
to  the  world.  They  formed  the  first  nucleus  of 
the  Church,  that  which  came  closest  to  the  cen- 
ter of  all  truth  and  life.  Hence  the  unwearied 
labors  of  Jesus  devoted  to  the  spiritual  education 
of  the  Twelve. 

2.  The  choice  of  these  particular  men  was 
made  in  true  wisdom.  Some  have  taken  excep- 
tion to  the  selection  made;  it  has  been  charged 
that  the  men  were  ill-suited  to  Christ's  purpose. 
In  answer  to  this,  others  have  undertaken  to  de- 
fend the  selection  by  teaching  that  our  Savior 

23 


24  Individuality 


made  choice  of  twelve  simple  and  unlettered 
men,  that  the  greater  their  lack  of  natural  wis- 
dom was,  the  more  admirable  might  appear  the 
supernatural  gifts  with  which  God  endowed 
them.  We  take  exception  to  this  view.  It  was 
not  a  question  of  kindred,  or  of  letters,  or  of 
education,  that  determined  their  selection.  We 
hold  the  Twelve  were  selected  as  representative 
types;  each  was  well  suited  to  Christ's  purpose, 
which  purpose  was  to  represent  human  nature 
in  its  entirety. 

Of  course,  Jesus  had  to  select  from  disciples; 
they  were  the  only  materials  at  hand.  He 
wanted  zvitnesses.  That  some  of  the  apostles 
were  comparatively  obscure,  inferior  men,  can 
not  be  denied ;  but  it  does  not  take  a  great  man 
to  make  a  good  witness,  and  to  be  witnesses  of 
Christian  facts  was  the  main  business  of  the 
apostles.  Those  facts  were  largely  matters  of 
experience,  as  they  shone  out  through  them  as 
typal  individualities.  Professor  Bruce,  in  his 
^'Training  of  the  Twelve,"  says :  ''That  even  the 
humblest  of  them  rendered  important  service  in 
that  capacity  we  need  not  doubt,  though  noth- 
ing is  said  of  them  in  the  apostolic  annals.  It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  a  history  so  frag- 
mentary and  so  brief  as  that  given  by  Luke 
should  mention  any  but  the  principal  actors,  es- 
pecially when  we  reflect  how  few  of  the  char- 


The  Co7nposite  Church  25 

acters  that  appear  on  the  stage  at  any  particular 
crisis  in  human  affairs  are  prominently  noticed 
even  in  histories  which  go  elaborately  into  detail. 
The  purpose  of  history  is  secured  by  recording 
the  words  and  deeds  of  the  repxes^ntative  men, 
and  many  are  allowed  to  drop  into  oblivion  who 
did  nobly  in  their  day.  The  less  distinguished 
members  of  the  apostolic  band  are  entitled  to  the 
benefit  of  this  reflection/* 

3.  The  Apostolic  College,  as  a  whole,  is  illus- 
trative of  composite  human  nature.  As  Christ 
was  the  Ideal  Man,  and  was  in  all  points  what 
men  can  be,  so  the  apostles  shadow  forth  all  the 
possible  dispositions  and  temperaments  of  hu- 
man nature.  In  the  truest  sense  of  the  word, 
the  Twelve  constitute  the  Composite  Church. 
Twelve  rare  stones  once  burned  in  the  breast- 
plate of  the  high  priest;  a  glorious  mass,  the 
richest  symbol  of  value,  honor,  and  glory.  The 
twelve  apostles  were  like  these  gems.  There 
was  no  duplicate  stone,  no  duplicate  apostle,  and 
one  could  never  be  mistaken  for  another.  Each 
was  a  man  of  pronounced  individuality.  But 
with  all  their  diversities,  these  twelve  live  stones 
were  all  wrought  into  one  symmetrical  whole. 

The  Church  is  one.  But  it  is  one  as  the  body 
is  one.  "We  have  many  members  in'*  the  *'one" 
natural  "body;"  and  just  so  we,  being  diverse 
Christian  members  of  His  redeemed  flock,  "are 


26  Individuality 


one"  mystical  "body  in  Christ."  In  the  natural 
body  every  part  is  not  so  much  a  distinct  unit  in 
itself  as  a  fraction  of  one  great  whole ;  and  so  in 
the  Church,  not  the  individuality  of  the  member, 
but  the  oneness  of  the  whole  community,  is  to 
demonstrate  the  truth  of  Christ*s  mission. 

One  of  the  happiest  definitions  of  life  is  this 
^  by  Professor  Guyot:  'Xife  is  the  mutual  ex- 
changing of  relations."  And  the  higher  the  life, 
the  intenser  the  exchanging.  "Behold,  how 
good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell 
together  in  unity !"  The  formula  of  definition  is, 
Unity  in  diversity,  and  diversity  in  unity.  The 
Christian  Church  began  in  this  way,  and  began 
gloriously.  The  Day  of  Pentecost  supplied  the 
mold  in  which  it  was  to  be  cast. 

All  Church  life  and  service  are  interdepend- 
ent. There  is  nothing  like  Christianity  to  indi- 
vidualize mankind.  But  at  the  same  time,  much 
of  what  we  can  do  that  is  best  in  the  world  we 
must  do  by  close  connection  and  interaction  one 
with  another.  Timothy  is  necessary  to  Paul; 
the  least  essential  to  the  great.  Priscilla  and 
Aquila !  what  a  power  they  were  •  for  early 
Christianity,  when  they  took  that  eloquent 
young  Alexandrian,  Apollos,  and  taught  him  in 
private  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly!  Pris- 
cilla, that  devout  woman,  stood,  in  fact,  before 
delighted  assemblies  in  Corinth,  and  spoke  to 


The  Composite  Church  27 

them  the  perfect  way  of  God  through  the  elo- 
quent man  whom  she  had  taught. 

In  the  valley  of  Chamounix  there  stands  a 
very  interesting  monument ;  it  presents  two  fig-  j^. 
ures — Saussure,  the  great  scientist,  and  Balmat,  '"^ 
the  guide,  who  was  the  very  first  to  stand  on  the 
summit  of  Mont  Blanc.  Saussure,  on  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mighty  mountain,  could  do  what  the 
poor  guide  could  not  do;  he  could  observe  the 
structure  of  the  rocks,  take  observations  of 
barometrical  variations,  note  the  intensity  of  the 
solar  rays,  the  mode  of  formation  of  clouds,  and 
he  could  describe  the  superb  scenery  unfolded 
to  his  view  with  the  feeling  of  an  artist  and  the 
pen  of  a  poet.  Balmat  could  do  nothing  of  all 
this ;  but  had  it  not  been  for  his  skill  and  daring, 
Saussure  had  never  scaled  the  glorious  height. 
So  on  the  monument  both  are  immortalized — 
the  lowly  guide  and  the  famous  philosopher; 
for  by  their  mutuality  they  triumphed,  and  gave 
mankind  a  new  world  of  science  and  poetry.  So 
it  is  in  the  Church.  The  Church,  the  body  of 
Christ,  is  an  organic  whole.  Its  work  is  one. 
All  its  members  mutually  help  in  the  common 
work.  No  one  has  a  right  to  say  to  another,  "I 
have  no  need  of  you."  All  are  needful.  Com- 
parisons as  to  value  of  service  are  odious.  Each 
in  his  place  is  best.  The  difficulty  we  have  with 
ourselves  and  with  one  another  is  that  of  not 


28  Individuality 


perceiving  that  every  one  of  us  is  needful  to 
make  up  the  sum  total  of  God's  meaning.  The 
men  in  the  Apostolic  College  belong  to  one 
another. 

4.  Of  the  apostles  chosen  there  are  given  in 
the  New  Testament  four  lists:  one  by  St.  Mat- 
thew (x,  2-4);  another  by  St.  Mark  (iii,  16-19); 
and  two  by  St.  Luke  (Luke  vi,  14-16;  Acts  i,  13). 
St.  Matthew  and  St.  Luke  in  their  Gospels  enu- 
merate the  apostles  in  an  order  which  answers 
to  the  date  of  their  calling ;  St.  Mark  ranges  them 
according  to  their  personal  influence  before  the 
Savior's  death;  and  in  the  Acts  they  are  set  in 
their  order  of  importance  after  the  ascension. 
The  order  taken  in  this  work  is  that  found  in 
St.  Matthew's  Gospel.  The  record  is:  "And 
when  he  had  called  unto  him  his  twelve  dis- 
ciples, he  gave  them  power  against  unclean  spir- 
its, to  cast  them  out,  and  to  heal  all  manner  of 
sickness  and  all  manner  of  disease.  Now  the 
names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  these ;  the  first, 
Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  and  Andrew  his 
brother;  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John 
his  brother;  Philip,  and  Bartholomew;  Thomas, 
and  Matthew  the  publican;  James  the  son  of 
Alphaeus,  and  Lebbaeus,  whose  surname  was 
Thaddaeus ;  Simon  the  Canaanite,  and  Judas  Is- 
cariot,  who  also  betrayed  him." 


The  Composite  Church  29 

In  the  following  table  the  names  are  arranged 
into  four  groups,  each  group  centering  around 
a  characteristic  key-thought : 

I  Group 
Key- word:  Impulse. 

Simon  Peter. 

Andrew. 

James  (son  of  Zebedee). 

II  Group 
Key-word:  Affection. 

John. 

Philip. 

Bartholomew  (Nathanael). 

III  Group 
Key-word:  Intellect. 

Thomas  (Didymus). 

Matthew  (Ivevi). 

James  (son  of  Alphseus). 

IV  Group 
Key-word :  Administrative  Ability. 

Lebbseus  (Thaddaeus,  Judas). 
Simon  (Canaanite,  Zelotes). 
Judas  Iscariot. 

These  four  groups,  in  their  distinctive  fea- 
tures, cover  all  our  complex  nature.  Of  the  first 
group,  Peter,  the  man  of  impulse,  is  the  repre- 
sentative ;  of  the  second,  John,  the  man  of  affec- 
tion; of  the  third,  Thomas,  the  man  of  reason; 
of  the  fourth,  Judas  Iscariot,  the  man  of  admin- 


30  Individuality 


istrative  ability.  In  the  first  group  we  naturally 
expect  to  find  the  impulsive  type  of  Christianity ; 
they  are  the  pioneers;  and  this  expectation  is 
justified  by  subsequent  events.  In  the  second 
group  we  have  the  intuitive  type  of  Christian- 
ity— men  of  contemplation.  In  the  third  group 
we  have  the  intellectual  type  of  Christianity. 
They  are  all  reflective  men.  The  fourth  group 
constitutes  the  administrative  type  of  Christian- 
ity. All  the  apostles  of  this  group  were  men  of 
evidently  practical  gifts. 

Each  group  fell  through  its  representative, 
and  through  the  predominant   strength   of  its 
chief  characteristic,  or  that  for  which  Christ  se- 
lects the  group.     The  most  signal  failures  of 
Peter,  John,  Thomas,  and  Judas  Iscariot  took 
place  in  those  points  of  character  for  which  they 
were  remarkable  in  excellence.    In  the  words  of 
Robertson :  ''St.  John  was  the  apostle  of  charity ; 
yet  he  is  the  very  type  to  us  of  religious  intoler- 
ance, in  his  desire  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven. 
St.  Peter  is  proverbially  the  apostle  of  impetuous 
intrepidity;  yet  twice  he  proved  a  craven."    We 
see  this  same  fact  illustrated  in  certain  Old  Testa- 
W     ment  characters.     So  eminent  as  Abraham  was 
^'  \    in  faith,  it  was  in  faith  that  he  most  signally 
failed ;  remarkable  as  Job  was  for  patience,  it  was 
in  that  very  thing  that  he  gave  way ;  and  though 
Moses  was  ''meek  above  all  the  men  that  dwell 


The  Cofnpostte  Church  31 

upon  the  earth,"  his  meekness  gave  place  to  irri- 
tability at  Meribah,  and  that,  too,  before  a  provo- 
cation which  seems  to  us  to  have  been  the  small- 
est of  his  life.  Let  us  not  forget  that  our  greatest 
danger  does  not  always  lie  where  we  are  weakest, 
but  is  sometimes  where  we  are  usually  strongest. 
Men  and  women  are  never  in  more  imminent 
danger  than  when  they  meet  with  temptations 
exactly  suited  to  their  master-disposition  or 
temperament. 

5.  The  apostles  were  in  this  condition. 
Christ  recognized  this  fact.  He  chided  them 
very  gently.  He  told  them  that  they  were  as  yet 
incomplete  men,  and  charged  them  that  they 
should  ''wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father." 
No  doubt  they  were  new  creatures  in  Christ. 
They  loved  and  served  him.  But  if  you  consider 
the  mistakes  that  they  made  regarding  Christ's 
kingdom,  their  prejudices,  their  fears,  the  shock 
which  they  had  received,  and  the  panic  into 
which  they  had  been  thrown  by  Christ's  death, 
you  will  admit  that  they  were  not  yet  ready  for 
their  work.  They  were  to  "wait"  for  a  special 
preparation.  Hence  at  that  solemn  moment,  in 
which  Christ  turns  over  mankind  into  their 
hands,  his  last  service  is  to  tell  them  of  the  power 
which  shall  be  wrought  in  them  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  what  they  shall  do  with  it.  ''Ye  shall 
receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 


i 


Individuality 


upon  you;  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me;" 
and  power  they  did  receive.  The  disciples,  as 
we  see  them  in  the  Gospels,  are  cowards ;  in  the 
Acts,  they  are  heroes.  In  the  Gospels,  they  are 
full  of  speculation  and  doubt;  in  the  Acts,  they 
are  marked  by  a  strong,  unwavering  faith.  In 
the  Gospels  we  have  the  source  of  life;  in  the 
Acts,  the  source  of  service  and  testimony.  Christ 
saves;  the  Holy  Ghost  empowers.  The  Rev.  John 
MacNeil  says,  "Life  begins  at  the  Cross,  but 
service  begins  at  Pentecost."  And  again,  "God 
wants  us  to  be  living  this  side  Pentecost,  not  the 
other  side."  The  glory  of  the  Apostolic  Church 
was  not  merely  in  her  faith,  zeal,  conversions,  or 
martyrdoms;  but  above  all,  and  as  their  source, 
in  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  will  ap- 
pear more  and  more  clearly  as  we  study  each  of 
the  four  apostolic  groups. 


Ill 

Key-word:  Impulse 
Simon  Peter 
Andrew 
James  the  Son  of  Zebedee 

33 


Does  he  take  inspiration  from  the  Church, 

Directly  make  her  rule  his  law  of  life? 

Not  he:  his  own  mere  impulse  guides  the  man. 

— Browning. 

He  abandoned  himself  to  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
whether  for  good  or  evil.  —Prescott. 

34 


'T- 


'■i 


3Impul!Se 

The  stram  of  passion  is  particularly  marked 
and  emphatic  in  this  group.  The  key-word  is 
impulse.    The  representative  is  Peter. 

I.  Peter  was  a  man  essentially  of  impulses. 
He  was  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  our  Lord's 
followers  by  an  impetuosity  which  seems  to  have 
been  born  with  him,  and  which  showed  itself  by 
obstinately  holding  any  opinion  which  the  mind 
once  embraced.  None  of  the  disciples  gainsaid 
our  Lord  so  often  as  Peter.  Over  and  over  again, 
Peter's  temperamental  disposition  asserts  its 
power.  His  full  heart  put  force  and  promptitude 
into  his  every  movement.  From  the  many  in- 
stances recorded,  we  need  select  only  a  few  in 
which  this  impulsiveness  of  his  nature  asserts 
itself. 

It  was  his  impulsive  faith  that  attempted  to 
walk  on  the  sea.  Jesus  had  just  performed  the 
miracle  of  feeding  the  multitude  with  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes.  So  great  was  the  impression 
made  on  their  minds  by  this  extraordinary  act  of 
benevolence  and  power,  that  he  thought  it  best, 
in  order  to  avoid  the  hindrance  of  his  great  task 
by  any  popular  commotion  in  his  favor,  to  go 
away  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  effectually  be- 

35 


36  Individuality 


yond  their  reach  for  the  time.  With  this  view, 
he  constrained  the  disciples  to  get  into  the  ship, 
and  go  before  him  to  the  other  side  of  the  lake, 
while  he  sent  the  people  away.  After  sending 
the  multitude  away,  he  wxnt  up  into  a  moun- 
tain, apart,  to  pray.  And  after  nightfall  the 
vessel  was  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and  he  alone 
on  the  land.  Weary  with  a  night  of  rowing,  for 
''the  wind  was  contrary,"  the  disciple-crew  had 
lost  courage;  and  about  three  or  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  Jesus  came  to  them,  walking  on  the 
sea.  They  supposed  it  to  have  been  a  spirit,  and 
"cried  out  with  fear."  It  was  the  cry  of  men 
tossed  and  toiling  on  the  wild  deep  in  the  gloom 
of  night.  But  immediately  Jesus  spoke  to  them, 
and  said,  "It  is  I:  be  not  afraid."  That  voice 
stilled  their  terrors,  and  at  once  they  were  eager 
to  receive  him  into  the  ship;  but  Peter's  im- 
petuous love  can  not  even  await  his  approach, 
and  he  passionately  exclaims,  "Lord,  if  it  be 
thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee  on  the  water." 
And  he  said,  "Come."  And  over  the  vessel's  side 
into  the  troubled  waves  he  sprang.  It  was  a 
courageous  faith.  A  timid  faith  would  not  have 
ventured  even  to  think  of  doing  that  which  Peter 
asked  to  do.  But,  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried 
for  aid;  aid  was  immediately  given  by  the  Sa- 
vior, who  said,  "O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore 


Impidse  37 


didst  thou  doubt?"  It  is  not  difficult  to  discover 
the  characteristics  of  Simon  Peter  as  they  come 
out  here.  Whatever  he  felt  for  the  moment  was 
sure  to  come  out  in  his  words  or  actions.  It  is 
easy  to  blame  and  say  that  Peter  should  not  have 
been  so  eager  to  meet  his  Lord,  or  he  should 
have  maintained  his  faith  to  the  last.  But  we 
must  not  forget  that  the  very  height  to  which 
his  faith  had  for  the  moment  attained,  exposed 
him,  more  than  any  others,  to  the  temptation  of 
unbelief.  ''Those  who  sit  securely  in  their  boats'; 
are  not  liable  to  sink.  The  men  of  even  tem- 
perament can  not  know  an  experience  like  this. 
They  know  nothing  of  ups  and  downs.  Where 
the  hills  are  highest,  the  ravines  are  deepest." 
Peter,  therefore,  must  not  be  unduly  blamed.  It 
is  better  to  dare  a  noble  thing  for  Christ  and  fail, 
than  not  to  dare  at  all.  Had  any  one  else  but 
Peter  attempted  this,  it  would  have  appeared 
awkward  and  ungraceful ;  had  he  refrained  from 
rushing  off  to  Jesus,  we  should  have  felt  that  it 
was  not  like  Peter. 

The  same  generous,  impetuous  spirit  shows 
itself  in  Peter's  first  and  second  confessions  of 
Christ.  The  first  confession  was  made  when 
many  false  or  half-sincere  disciples  had  left  the 
Master.  In  deep  sadness  of  heart  he  addressed 
to  the  Twelve  the  touching  question,  "Will  ye 


38  Individuality 


also  go  away?"  It  was  Simon  Peter  whose  warm 
heart  spoke  out  impetuously  for  all  the  rest: 
"Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life.  And  we  believe,  and  are 
sure  that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God."  This  was  the  grandest  act  of 
Peter's  life.  He  enthroned  Christ.  It  is  the 
grandest  act  of  any  soul  to  enthrone  Christ. 
And  yet  we  can  scarcely  conceive  of  any  but 
Peter  speaking  these  words.  They  would  not 
have  been  the  first  answer  of  the  critical  Thomas 
or  the  more  philosophical  John.  Their  sudden, 
unqualified  utterance  could  only  have  broken 
from  the  lips  of  Peter.  At  the  bare  mention  of 
the  possibility  of  departure  from  Christ,  Peter's 
soul  was  on  fire,  and  the  utterance  of  his  heart 
outran  the  slower  processes  of  the  intellect,  and 
he  spoke  with  the  voice  of  one  who  had  experi- 
enced the  power  of  the  words  of  eternal  life. 

The  same  unhesitating  spirit  is  seen  in  his 
second  confession.  Jesus  took  advantage  of  a 
quiet  time  with  his  disciples  to  ask  them  what 
were  men's  thoughts  about  him  in  the  countries 
through  which  they  had  just  passed.  When  they 
replied  that  the  people  saw  in  him  one  of  the 
old  prophets,  whose  return  w^as  looked  for  at 
the  epoch  of  the  Messiah,  the  Master  asked, 
*'Whom  say  ye  that  I  am?"  "Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,"   exclaims 


Impulse  39 


Peter,  in  one  of  those  ecstasies  of  faith  which 
raise  him  for  the  moment  above  himself,  and  re- 
veal that  ardent  courage  which  characterizes  all 
the  mighty  men  of  action  and  enthusiasm.  With 
this  prompt,  definite  confession,  Jesus  was  satis- 
fied. He  solemnly  pronounced  Peter  ''blessed" 
on  account  of  his  faith. 

Christ  blesses  enthusiasm  when  it  is  in  the 
way,  and  does  not  check  it.  But  see  how  he  re- 
bukes it  when  not  in  the  way !  When  the  Lord 
warned  his  disciples  of  his  approaching  death, 
"they  understood  not  his  saying,  and  it  was  hid 
from  them,  that  they  perceived  it  not."  "And 
they  feared  to  ask  him."  But  Peter,  in  his  im- 
petuosity, thought  that  he  understood,  and  that 
he  could  prevent;  and  so  he  interrupted  those 
solemn  utterances  by  his  ignorant  and  presump- 
tuous zeal.  He  took  Jesus  aside,  and  began  to 
rebuke  him,  saying,  "Be  it  far  from  thee.  Lord ; 
this  shall  not  be  unto  thee."  It  was  kindly 
meant.  But  he  knew  not  what  he  said.  With 
a  flash  of  sudden  indignation,  our  Lord  rebuked 
his  worldliness  and  presumption :  "Get  thee  be- 
hind me  Satan:  thou  art  an  offense  unto  me; 
for  thou  savorest  not  the  things  that  be  of  God, 
but  those  that  be  of  men." 

Passing  over  the  intervening  incidental 
notices  of  Peter's  actions,  the  next  great  occa- 
sion on  which  his  impulsive  nature  shows  itself 


40  Individuality 


was  in  the  Upper  Room.  At  the  appointed  hour 
I  the  thirteen  sat  down  to  eat.  And  when  the 
Passover  meal  was  served,  Jesus  rose  from  his 
seat,  and  proceeded  to  wash  his  disciples'  feet, 
''performing  for  them  the  meanest  offices  of  hos- 
pitality." Awe  and  shame  kept  the  others  silent 
until  he  came  to  Peter,  whose  irrepressible  emo- 
tions found  vent  in  the  surprised,  half-indignant 
question,  ''Lord,  dost  thou  seek  to  wash  my 
feet?"  To  this  the  Savior  replied,  'What  I  do, 
thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know 
hereafter."  Peter  was  over-hasty  in  judging 
Christ's  action,  for  he  was  ignorant.  Had  he 
waited,  Christ  would  have  made  it  clear.  Still 
the  erratic  disciple  would  not  consent;  he  im- 
petuously exclaims,  ''Thou  shalt  never  wash  my 
feet."  On  the  whole,  Peter  was  a  good  man, 
and  his  language  here  expresses  something  that 
was  really  good,  just  that  sense  of  Christ's  great- 
ness and  his  own  unworthiness  as  appears  in 
Luke  V,  8,  "Thy  condescension  overwhelms  me." 
But  associated  with  this  is  Peter's  want  of  re- 
flection, of  ready  acquiescence,  and  his  char- 
acteristic impulsiveness.  He  should  have  felt 
such  unbounded  confidence  in  Christ  as  to  sub- 
mit without  resistance  or  reluctance.  But  the 
Master  would  not  argue  with  him.  He  simply 
said,  "If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with 
me."    That  calm  word  changed  the  whole  cur- 


Impulse  41 


rent  of  thought  and  feeling  in  the  warm-hearted, 
passionate  disciple.  The  idea  of  being  cut  off 
from  his  dear  Master's  favor  through  his  way- 
wardness drove  him  in  sheer  fright  to  the  oppo- 
site extreme  of  overdone  compliance:  ''Lord, 
not  my  feet  only,  but  also  my  hands  and  my 
head."  But  that  again  was  too  much.  How 
characteristic  of  the  man!  He  goes  swinging, 
like  a  pendulum,  from  one  extreme  to  another. 
"If  you  drive  nature  out  with  a  fork,  yet  it  will 
come  back  again."  That  was  an  old  Roman  say- 
ing, and  one  can  not  but  be  reminded  of  it  in 
the  case  of  Peter.  ''J^sus  saith  unto  him.  He 
that  is  washed  needeth  not  save  to  wash  his  feet, 
but  is  clean  every  whit."  Peter  learns  first  that 
he  must  yield  an  unquestioning  obedience,  and 
then  that  the  general  purification  of  the  soul 
obtained  by  pardon,  does  not  dispense  with  the 
daily  cleansing;  for  the  pilgrim  bound  for  heaven 
can  not  pursue  his  journey  without  the  dust  of 
the  way  cleaving  to  his  feet.  "He  who  is  washed 
needeth  not  save  to  wash  his  feet." 

And  now  the  Savior  proceeded  to  institute 
the  perpetual  feast  commemorative  of  his  death, 
observing  sadly  that  his  death  would  not  merely  / 
be  accelerated  by  the  treachery  of  one,  but  by 
the  desertion  of  all.  Again  the  spirit  of  positive 
assertion  obtains  the  mastery  over  Peter,  not  yet 
taught   the   lesson   of   self-mistrust.      He   asks, 


42  Individuality 


''Lord,  whither  goest  thou?"  Jesus  answered 
him,  "Whither  I  go,  thou  canst  not  follow  me 
now;  but  thou  shalt  follow  me  afterward." 
Peter  said  unto  him :  ''Lord,  why  can  I  not  fol- 
low thee  now?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  thy 
sake."  Again,  when  the  Master  said,  "All  ye 
shall  be  offended  because  of  me  this  night,"  the 
words  spring  to  Peter's  lips,  "Though  all  men 
shall  be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I 
never  be  offended."  Peter's  sins,  like  his  vir- 
tues, were  in  a  large  measure  due  to  his  tempera- 
ment. When  Jesus  was  in  the  garden,  and  about 
to  be  apprehended,  Peter,  readiest  in  action  as 
in  word,  drew  his  sword,  and  cut  off  the  ear  of 
Malchus,  one  of  the  servants  of  the  high  priest. 
Instantly  Jesus  rebuked  the  ill-timed  action. 
"Return  that  sword  of  thine  into  its  place,"  he 
said  to  Peter,  "for  all  they  that  take  the  sword 
shall  perish  with  the  sword."  Soon  followed  his 
threefold  denial  of  the  Master,  with  its  sad  and 
suggestive  history.  At  this  period  of  his  life, 
Peter's  easy,  impressionable  nature  was  ever 
liable  to  be  molded  by  the  influence  of  the  mo- 
ment, and  he  passed  readily  into  passionate  ex- 
tremes. At  different  times  during  the  Last  Sup- 
per, and  in  the  conversations  which  followed, 
Peter  expressed  himself  after  this  fashion: 
"Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not 
deny  thee,"  "Although  all  shall  be  offended,  yet 


Impulse  43 


will  not  I,"  "I  am  ready  to  go  with  thee,  both 
into  prison  and  to  death,"  "I  will  lay  down  my 
life  for  thy  sake."  And  when  he  said  these 
things  he  was  sincere.  He  felt  all  he  said.  And 
yet  this  was  the  man  who  denied  his  Lord. 
Peter  was  not  content  with  one  denial.  First  of 
all,  there  was  the  square  falsehood,  "I  know  not 
the  man."  Then,  as  Mark  puts  it,  there  was  a 
second  denial,  with  perjury;  for,  with  an  oath,  he 
said  the  second  time,  ''I  know  riot  the  man." 
And  then,  under  the  third  challenge,  the  third 
denial  comes  with  dreadful  imprecations  and 
curses — "He  began  to  curse  and  to  swear,  say- 
ing, I  know  not  this  man  of  whom  ye  speak." 
But  at  that  fatal  moment  of  guilt,  ''the  Lord 
turnedand  looked  upon  Peter."  It  was  enough; 
Peter  went  out  and  wept  bitterly,  and,  as  the 
story  soon  tells  us,  returned  to  the  Lord. 

There  is  a  peculiar  silence  in  the  narrative 
about  him  through  all  the  remaining  passion  of 
Christ.  He  does  not  appear  in  the  story  when 
the  Savior  was  crucified,  nor  when  he  was  laid 
in  Joseph's  tomb;  and  nothing  is  said  of  him 
during  the  three  days  of  great  suspense  endured 
by  all  the  believers  at  Jerusalem.  But  he  comes 
to  light  again  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day. 
On  hearing  the  news  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus, 
Peter  and  John  started  at  once  for  the  sepulcher. 
John  outran  Peter,  but  stood  looking  into  the 


44  IndividMality 


sepulcher;  then  Peter  came  up,  and  with  his 
usual  impetuosity,  heedless  of  ceremonial  pollu- 
tion, and  of  every  consideration  but  his  love  and 
his  astonishment,  plunged  in  at  once.  Then  fol- 
lowed John,  and  while  they  were  there,  they  saw 
in  a  moment  what  had  occurred. 

And  now  the  scene  shifts  once  more  to  the 
familiar  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The  dis- 
ciples had  toiled  all  night  in  fishing,  but  in  vain. 
At  early  dawn  there  stood  on  the  shore  the  figure 
of  One  whom  they  did  not  recognize.  He  called 
to  them,  ^'Children,  have  ye  any  meat?"  They 
answered  him,  ''No,"  and  he  called  to  them 
again,  "Cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship, 
and  ye  shall  find."  They  cast  at  once,  and  ''they 
were  not  able  to  draw  the  net  for  the  multitude 
of  fishes."  Then  we  are  told  that  John  whis- 
pered to  Peter,  "It  is  the  Lord."  Instantly  the 
warm-hearted  Peter,  his  whole  character  coming 
out  in  the  act,  girds  around  him  the  fisher's  coat 
and  leaps  into  the  sea,  to  swim  across  the  hun- 
dred yards  which  separated  him  from  Jesus,  and 
casts  himself,  all  wet  from  the  waves,  before  his 
Master's  feet.  John  was  the  first  to  perceive 
Christ,  but  Peter  was  the  first  to  struggle  to 
him.  John's  love  was  quickest  to  discern,  but 
Peter's  impulse  was  quickest  to  stir. 

And  here  we  must  close  with  the  history  of 
the  Peter  of  the  Gospels.     His  character  is  a 


Impulse  45 


very  marked  one.  We  notice  at  once  his  natural 
sincerity  and  boldness;  his  vehemence  and  self- 
confidence;  his  liability  to  be  hurried  away  by 
the  tide  of  events  and  the  current  of  prevailing 
feeling.  His  love  to  Jesus  was  genuine  and  sin- 
cere ;  for  with  all  his  failings,  Peter  was  no  hypo- 
crite ;  but  as  Dr.  McCosh  says :  ''His  zeal  is  often 
unthinking  and  impetuous,  and  proceeds  from 
a  self-confident  and  self-righteous,  rather  than  a 
humble  and  trustful,  spirit  of  dependence  on 
God;  and  it  comes  forth  when  it  should  be  re- 
strained, and  fails  when  it  should  flow.'* 

He  stands  out,  however,  as  a  born  leader  of 
men ;  a  man  of  boundless  energy ;  invaluable  to 
every  new  movement ;  an  extremist,  in  the  most 
emphatic  sense  of  that  term.  Such  are  the  men 
who  head  great  reforms,  and  lead  the  way  to 
better  things. 

2.  "One  of  the  two  which  heard  John  speak, 
and  followed  him,  was  Andrew,  Simon  Peter's 
brother."  Thus  is  introduced  the  second  apostle 
of  this  first  group.  The  notices  of  Andrew  are 
extremely  rare,  but  nearly  all  of  them  exhibit 
him  introducing  others  to  Christ.  Bede  has 
given  him  the  appropriate  name  of  "Introductor 
to  Christ."  On  almost  every  occasion  where  he 
appears  at  all,  it  is  in  the  capacity  of  a  missionary. 

First,  it  is  his  own  brother  whom  he  brings. 
He    ''first    findeth    his    own    brother    Simon." 


46  Individuality 


There  are  two  kinds  of  people :  those  who  go  and 
do  the  thing,  and  those  who  stand  and  wonder 
why  it  was  not  done  after  some  other  fashion. 
Andrew  can  not  keep  the  blessed  discovery  to 
himself.  There  is  no  postponement  for  a  com- 
plete plan,  or  for  times.  He  begins  at  the  near- 
est point— "his  own  brother."  As  devout  Jews 
they  had  often  talked  of  the  coming  Messiah ;  as 
companions  in  fishing  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee  they 
had  often  discussed  the  state  of  religion  in  their 
nation;  and  as  brothers  they  had  often  revealed 
to  each  other  the  longing  of  their  hearts  after  a 
brighter  hope,  a  purer  life.  Andrew  knew  what 
a  blessing  it  would  be  for  Simon  to  know  Jesus, 
and  so  he  hastens  to  bring  them  together.  His 
heart  is  full,  and  he  does  what  he  can. 

We  next  meet  with  Andrew  at  the  miraculous 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand.  When  Jesus  said 
unto  Philip,  ''Whence  shall  we  buy  bread,  that 
these  may  eat?"  Philip  answered  him,  ''Two  hun- 
dred pennyworth  of  bread  is  not  sufficient  for 
them,  that  every  one  of  them  may  take  a  little." 
But  Andrew  said  unto  Jesus,  "There  is  a  lad  here, 
which  hath  five  barley  loaves,  and  two  small 
fishes:  but  what  are  they  among  so  many?" 
Philip's  answer  betrays  his  impatience  with  the 
apparent  unreasonableness  of  the  question.  But 
as  F.  W.  Macdonald  says :  "Andrew's  reply  was 
a  great  advance  on  Philip's.    From  Philip's  non- 


Impulse  47 


existent  two  hundred  pennyworth  to  Andrew's 
actual  five  loaves  is  certainly  to  make  progress. 
It  is  moving  out  of  the  negative  into  the  positive, 
out  of  the  region  in  which  our  cynicism  and  de- 
spair so  often  tarry,  into  the  region  of  practical 
endeavor."  That  is  the  spirit  of  every  true  pio- 
neer, that  sees  the  possibilities  of  things  and 
ventures.  "Philip  is  wilHng  to  begin  if  he  has 
a  grand  start ;  Andrew  is  willing  to  begin  with  a 
small  capital." 

We  see  no  more  of  Andrew  until  the  day 
when  a  party  of  Greeks  came  to  Philip,  and  asked 
him  to  procure  for  them  a  private  interview  with 
Jesus.  Philip  communicates  the  matter  to  An- 
drew. Why  not  convey  the  request  direct  to 
Jesus?  Why  go  to  Andrew?  Just  because  the 
petitioners  are  Greeks  and  Gentiles.  It  is  a  new 
situation.  Philip  is  pleased  that  his  Master 
should  be  inquired  after  in  such  a  quarter,  but 
he  is  not  sure  about  the  propriety  of  acting  on 
his  first  impulse.  He  hesitates;  but  Andrew  is 
ready — his  first  impulse  settles  the  question. 

Thus  we  find  in  this  apostle  the  pioneer  spirit. 
If  the  figure  of  Andrew  fades  into  dimness  beside 
that  of  his  brother,  he  retains,  nevertheless,  the 
honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  hail  Jesus ;  and 
he  ever  shows  himself  zealous  in  his  service. 

3.  Of  James,  the  third  apostle  mentioned  in 
this  group,   a  few  facts  only  stand  recorded. 


48  Indiviauality 


Originally  he  was  a  disciple  of  the  stern  Baptist, 
and  therefore  a  man  of  no  common  earnestness. 
On  him,  with  his  brother,  our  Lord  bestowed 
the  title,  "Son  of  Thunder."  Unquestionably 
this  name  implies  that  he  had  a  burning  and  im- 
petuous spirit.  Of  the  characteristic  events  of 
his  life  none  are  recorded,  save  his  call ;  the  token 
of  a  fiery  spirit,  in  the  case  of  the  inhospitable 
Samaritans ;  his  ambitious  desire  for  a  chief  place 
in  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah ;  and  his  martyr- 
dom. 

James  was  the  first  to  shed  his  blood  for  the 
gospel  (iVcts  xii,  i).  In  the  early  Church  he 
seems  to  have  occupied  a  prominent  place.  His 
zeal  still  burnt  with  a  hot,  unhidden  flame,  which 
attracted  to  itself  the  earliest  storm  of  hostile 
attack.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  in  a  fragment 
preserved  by  Eusebius,  reports  that  the  officer 
who  conducted  James  to  the  tribunal  was  so  in- 
fluenced by  the  bold  declaration  of  his  faith  as 
to  embrace  the  gospel  and  avow  himself  also  a 
Christian;  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  be- 
headed at  the  same  time. 

Thus,  we  see,  all  the  apostles  of  this  group 
are  characterized  by  an  impulsive  spirit.  The 
group  represents  an  undeniable  headship  in 
organization.  Here  are  the  pioneers,  the  leaders, 
the  organizers. 


IV 


Cfje  SmpiiMtie  C^pe  of 
Ctjrtstianit^ 


49 


Christianity  is  an  enthusiasm,  or  it  is  nothing. 

— Ecce  Homo, 


Only  "a  soul  all  flame"  is  likely  to  accomplish  much 
in  the  teeth  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  every  lofty 
enterprise.  The  great  movements  which  have  most  widely 
blessed  the  world  have  been  led  by  men  of  passionate 
earnestness  and  fervid  zeal.  — G.  Howard  James, 

50 


C^e  9Itnpuljstbe  Ctpe  of  Cl^riistfantt^ 

There  is  an  impulsive  type  of  Christianity. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  needed  factors  in  the  build- 
ing up  of  Christ's  kingdom.  We  need  to  see  to 
it  that  our  Christianity  is  not  purely  intellectual ; 
we  need  impulses;  we  need  impulse  regenerated 
and  baptized  for  Christ.  "The  onward  march  of 
mankind,"  says  Dr.  Alexander  '  Whyte ;  "the 
ever-advancing  providences  of  the  living  God; 
the  expansion  and  the  extension  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  as  well  as  the  spread  and  the  fullness 
of  the  Church  of  Christ, — all  these  are  simply 
bound  up  with  the  sanguine  temperament.  For 
that  happy  temperament  is  open,  hopeful,  be- 
lieving, enterprising,  and  responsive  to  all  that 
is  true  and  good.  The  sanguine  temperament 
beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all 
things,  endureth  all  things."  All  down  human 
history  we  see  the  great  advancements  that  this 
so  generous  temperament  has  achieved.  Look 
at  all  the  true  leaders  of  men  in  all  ages.  Look 
at  the  pioneers  and  those  who  have  prepared  the 
way.  Look  at  the  men  who  opened  their  eyes, 
opened  their  hearts,  spoke  the  first  word,  and 
took  the  first  step.  The  Church,  no  less  than 
the  world,  needs  men  of  action  to  lead  the  way ; 

51 


-^2  Individuality 


pioneers  to  open  up  new  paths;  persons  of  im- 
agination and  enthusiasm  to  devise  and  impress 
others  with  the  practicabiUty  of  what  they  sug- 
gest. 

I.  A  popular  author  says,  "The  secret  of  all 
worldly  success  is  earnestness."  Our  Lord  made 
no  mistake  when  he  called  a  man  like  Peter  to 
himself  and  to  his  service.  We  may  moralize,  if 
we  choose,  over  Peter's  impulsiveness,  and  bewail 
the  absence  of  caution  by  which,  on  many  occa- 
sions, he  was  characterized ;  but  in  the  language 
of  Dr.  William  M.  Taylor:  "The  fact  remains 
that  the  world  has  never  owed  very  much  to  your 
prudent  people,  who  are  always  afraid  to  do  any- 
thing until  they  know  assuredly  that  they  are 
doing  the  right  thing.  If  Luther  had  been  a 
man  of  that  temperament,  there  would  have  been 
no  Reformation."  Such  never  make  the  pio- 
neers, the  leaders,  the  organizers  of  new  work. 
God  deliver  the  Church  from  the  paralyzing 
power  of  men  "who  never  say  a  foolish  thing, 
and  never  do  a  wise  one  !"  The  Church  of  to-day 
has  far  too  many  men  ready  to  put  breaks  on  her 
progress — cautious  men — but  far  too  few  men 
of  steam  power,  men  to  tell  us  what  to  do,  and 
who  go  and  do  it.  Caution  and  propriety  have 
their  use.  Common  sense  is  always  needful. 
But  the  man  whom  God  places  at  the  forefront 


The  Impulsive  Type  of  Christianity       53 

is  gifted  with  quickness,  warmth,  and  tremen- 
dous energy. 

In  fact,  a  zealous  spirit  is  essential  to  eminent 
success  in  anything.  Perhaps  there  is  more  need 
to  insist  upon  this  because  enthusiasm  is  out  of 
fashion.  It  is  bad  form  nowadays  to  admire  any- 
thing very  warmly.  To  be  strenuously  in  ear- 
nest is  almost  vulgar.  Especially  is  this  so  in 
regard  to  religion.  Did  not  Pope  say  long  ago, 
"The  worst  of  madmen  is  a  saint  run  mad?"  And 
he  only  put  in  terse  and  pithy  speech  what  other 
people  say  more  clumsily.  There  are  people  who 
have  an  antipathy  to  enthusiasm  in  religion. 
They  object  that  we  can  not  rely  upon  ''ho- 
sanna"  people.  But  what  is  a  wooden  Chris- 
tianity good  for?  What  is  a  Christianity  that  is 
logical  only  good  for?  The  worst  heresy  is  cold- 
ness. "Coldness,"  says  Dr.  Joseph  Parker,  of 
London,  "is  the  deadliest  enemy.  Fear  the  cold 
man  more  than  the  atheist.  He  sends  a  chill 
through  all  the  regions  of  the  Church.  No  hymn 
lifts  him  into  rapture;  no  view  of  Divine  truth 
transfigures  him  or  makes  his  raiment  glisten 
with  sparkles  of  light.  He  is  outside  the  fire  of 
the  most  burning  appeal ;  yet,  for  some  inscru- 
table reason,  he  is  within  the  lines  of  the  visible 
Church.  The  cold  man  is  not  brought  up  for 
excommunication,  but  he  ought  to  be.     .     .     . 


54  Individuality 


Herein  the  Church  is  fatally  wrong.  She  will 
indorse  the  cold  man,  and  expel  the  earnest  con- 
templatist  and  speculatist;  she  lays  hands  on 
daring  yet  reverent  speculation,  and  allows  the 
cold  man  to  lift  up  his  hand  of  ice  in  sign  of 
legitimate  ecclesiastical  authority.  Better  have 
two  men  in  your  congregation  who  are  in  burn- 
ing earnest,  than  a  houseful  of  men  whose  souls 
are  destitute  of  enthusiasm.  You  gain  in  weight 
what  you  lose  in  number ;  you  gain  in  force  what 
you  lose  in  show.  The  prayer  of  every  devout 
heart  should  be,  'Baptize  me  as  with  fire.'  " 

Enthusiasm !  That  is  what  the  Church  needs. 
There  should  be  fervency  of  spirit  that  will  radi- 
ate both  light  and  heat.  The  faculties  should  be 
on  fire.  Iron  can  not  be  welded  at  a  low  tem- 
perature. There  must  be  heat,  and  then  you 
can  weld  iron  to  iron.  So  you  can  not  weld  na- 
tures to  each  other  when  they  are  at  a  low  tem- 
perature. Mind  can  not  take  hold  of  mind,  nor 
faculty  of  faculty,  when  they  are  not  in  a  glow. 
But  when  they  are  in  a  glow  they  can.  We  see 
this  exemplified  in  society.  Hundreds  and  hun- 
dreds of  men,  who  are  rich  in  learning,  ponder- 
ous in  mental  equipment,  ample  in  philosophical 
power,  who  are  low  in  degree  of  temperature, 
and  who  labor  all  their  life,  achieve  but  little. 
You  see,  right  by  the  side  of  these  men,  men 
who  have  no  comparison  with  them  in  native 


The  Impulsive  Type  of  Christimiity       55 

power  or  in  culture,  but  who  have  simplicity, 
straightforwardness,  and,  above  all,  intensity; 
and  what  of  them?  Why  this:  they  are  eminent 
in  accomplishing  results.  Let  a  man's  soul  be 
filled  with  a  design ;  let  his  faith  burn  into  enthu- 
siasm; let  his  idea  become  the  necessity  of  his 
life  and  the  very  synonym  of  his  name, — and 
will  he  fear?  will  he  hesitate?  will  he  furl  his 
banner  before  the  threatening  foe?  Let  the  his- 
tory of  heroism  testify ! 

Says  Dr.  John  Watson :  ''You  can  do  nothing 
without  enthusisam.  You  can  not  carry  on  a 
charitable  relief  society  or  a  political  club  with 
cold-blooded  men.  And  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  more  than  a  club.  No  enterprise  depends  so 
absolutely  on  the  high  enthusiasm  of  its  mem- 
bers ;  it  utilizes  all  kinds  of  power,  but  it  succeeds 
in  proportion  as  the  mercury  stands  high  in  the 
thermometer.  Its  great  captains  have  all  been 
of  the  impassioned  order.  George  Buchanan 
was  the  finest  Scottish  scholar  of  the  sixteenth 
century ;  but  it  was  fiery  John  Knox,  and  not  the 
Latin  writer,  that  recast  Scotland.  Erasmus 
was  the  finest  scholar  anywhere  of  that  century, 
but  Luther  led  the  European  Reformation.  It 
was  not  the  learned  Alexandrian,  Apollos,  that 
evangelized  the  Roman  Empire,  but  that  in- 
spired madman,  St.  Paul.  History  affords  at 
every  turn  some  impregnable  fortress  which  was 


56  Individuality 


the  despair  of  the  wise  and  prudent,  but  was 
carried  by  some  enthusiast  with  a  rush.  He  cast 
his  reputation,  his  Hfe,  his  all,  into  the  breach, 
and  his  body  made  the  bridge  over  which  the 
race  entered  into  its  heritage.  .  .  .  From 
the  days  of  Telemachus  until  now,  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  has  been  served  by  'the  violent,'  and 
the  violent  have  carried  it  to  victory." 

2.  The  impulsive  is  the  missionary  type  of 
Christianity.  We  can  not  tell  certainly  w^ho  was 
the  first  foreign  missionary.  But  we  know  who 
was  the  first  home  missionary — Andrew.  "He 
first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon."  In  An- 
drew we  find  the  very  genius  of  Christianity. 
He  felt  at  once  the  communicative  and  diffusive 
nature  of  religion.  How  instinctive  and  natural 
the  impulse  is  when  a  man  has  found  Jesus 
Christ  to  tell  some  one  else  about  him !  Nobody 
said  to  Andrew,  ''Go  and  look  for  your  brother !" 
If  a  man  has  a  real  conviction,  he  can  not  rest 
until  he  has  shared  it  with  some  one  else.  Even 
a  dog  that  has  had  its  injured  leg  mended  will 
bring  other  limping  dogs  to  the  mender. 

Everything  in  religion  is  gloriously  expansive. 
Andrew,  before  he  was  four  and  twenty  hours  a 
disciple,  had  made  another.  He  did  not  wait 
till  he  had  been  made  an  apostle,  or  even  a  regu- 
lar disciple.  He  began  at  once.  If  we  never 
think  about  doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men  till 


The  Impulsive  Type  of  Christianity       57 

we  are  licensed,  we  should  think  seriously  if  we 
ought  to  be  licensed  at  all ;  and  if,  when  we  are 
licensed  or  ordained,  we  look  upon  our  work  as 
a  task,  and  measure  carefully  what  we  have  to 
do,  and  what  we  have  not  to  do,  we  should  ask 
ourselves,  "Is  this  not  the  place  of  a  hireling?" 
And  the  same  lesson  comes  home  to  all.  A  man 
may  never  think  of  being  a  minister  or  a  mis- 
sionary; but  he  is  not  thereby  freed  from  the 
duty  of  beginning  at  once  to  speak  a  word  to  his 
brother  about  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Let  us  not 
forget  the  beginnings  of  the  Christian  Church : 
two  men — Andrew  and  John — each  of  whom 
found  his  brother.  "Two  snowflakes  on  the  top 
of  the  mountain  are  an  avalanche  by  the  time 
they  reach  the  valley." 

A  great  need  of  the  hour  is  personal  effort. 
This  is  an  age  of  associations;  individual  effort 
is,  in  a  large  manner,  superseded  by  corporate 
action.  We  do  nearly  all  our  good  by  commit- 
tees and  societies.  Many,  feeling  unable  alto- 
gether to  escape  from  the  responsibility  of  doing 
something  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  pay  others 
to  act  as  their  substitutes ;  and  thus  organizations 
are  necessitated  to  accomplish  mechanically,  as 
it  were,  what  can  only  be  done  effectually  by 
individual  effort.  Such  organizations,  no  doubt, 
accomplish  a  vast  amount  of  good,  and  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  how,  in  the  present  state  of  society, 


58  Individuality 


they  could  safely  be  abolished;  but  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  what  the  world  needs  more 
than  anything  else — more  than  gifts  of  money, 
rules,  speeches,  theories,  organizations — is  the 
revival  of  personal  agency;  the  touch  of  the 
hand,  the  glance  of  an  eye,  the  tone  of  a  voice, 
the  sympathy  of  warm,  loving  hearts,  charged 
with  all-healing  influences. 

What  is  wanted  now  is  a  revival  of  the  old- 
fashioned  "passion  for  souls ;"  that  passion  which 
made  Paul  say,  "For  I  could  wish  that  myself 
were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren,  my 
kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh;"  that  which 
caused  Brainerd  to  exclaim,  "I  cared  not  where 
or  how  I  lived,  so  that  I  could  but  win  souls  to 
Christ;  while  I  was  asleep  I  dreamed  of  these 
things,  and  when  I  awaked  it  was  my  sole  con- 
cern ;"  that  which  made  Wesley  say  to  his  breth- 
ren, "Let  us  all  be  men  of  one  business ;  we  live 
only  for  this — to  save  our  own  souls  and  the 
souls  of  them  that  hear  tis ;"  that  which  led  the 
devout  Robert  McAU  to  resign  his  prosperous 
Church,  that  he  might  go  to  win  skeptical  and 
frivolous  Paris  for  Jesus.  When  Dr.  Backus 
(the  president  of  Hamilton  College)  was  upon 
his  deathbed,  the  physician  called  to  see  him, 
and,  after  examining  the  symptoms,  left  the 
room  without  speaking,  but,  as  he  opened  the 
door  to  go  out,  was  observed  to  whisper  some- 


The  linpidsive  Type  of  Christianity       59 

thing  to  the  servant.  "What  did  the  physician 
say  to  you?"  asked  Dr.  Backus.  "He  said,  sir, 
that  you  can  not  live  to  exceed  half  an  hour." 
"Is  it  so?"  said  the  good  man;  "then  take  me 
out  of  my  bed,  and  place  me  upon  my  knees ;  let 
me  spend  that  time  in  calling  upon  God  for  the 
salvation  of  the  world."  His  request  was  com- 
plied with;  and  his  last  moments  were  spent  in 
breathing  forth  his  prayers  for  the  salvation  of 
his  fellow-sinners.    He  died  upon  his  knees. 

3.  But  as  Andrew  did  not  stop  short  at  his 
brother,  so  home  missions  must  expand  into 
foreign.  The  religion  of  Christ  is  essentially  mis- 
sionary. The  largeness  of  the  Savior's  pur- 
pose— "Go  ye,  and  teach  all  nations" — is  proof 
of  that.  What  an  amplitude  there  is  in  the  gaze 
of  Christ !  What  a  reach  in  his  merciful  design ! 
Calvary  has  not  robbed  him  of  his  love.  With 
the  freshness  of  the  resurrection  power  upon 
him,  he  bids  men  to  look  at  mankind  and  con- 
quer the  world  for  him.  Man  needs  the  Savior, 
and  Christ  commanded  that  the  gospel  which 
unfolds  him  should  be  preached  to  every  crea- 
ture. We  evaporate  the  meaning  of  the  Master's 
command  if  we  say  that  the  heathen  are  saved 
without  the  gospel.  We  can  not  go  behind  his 
words.  No  matter  how  many  scientists,  philos- 
ophers, jurists,  and  experts  you  may  summon, 
the    question    before    the    court    is,    "Do    the 


6o  Individuality 


heathen  need  the  gospel?"  The  man  of  the 
world  says,  "No."  We  challenge  the  witness. 
He  is  not  competent.  The  Lord  Jesus  knows  all 
things  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  In  his  life  and 
death  he  reveals  the  mysteries  of  grace.  Noth- 
ing is  clearer  than  this :  the  guilt  of  the  heathen 
world,  their  need  of  the  gospel,  and  our  duty  to 
carry  it  to  them.  When  the  Crusades  were  being 
preached,  the  one  cry  which  provoked  a  response 
from  every  lip  was  this:  "God  wills  it!"  The 
plea  in  our  case  is  more  urgent  than  in  theirs, 
and  shall  our  sense  of  obligation  be  less?  "It  is 
not  merely  God  wills  it,  but  Christ  commands 
it."  It  comes  direct,  not  merely  as  the  Divine 
wish,  but  as  the  Divine  injunction.  When  Christ 
says  "Go,"  who  will  dare  to  stay? 

These  are  mission  times.  The  ripeness  of  the 
time  for  a  grand  movement  all  along  the  line  is 
one  of  the  miracles  of  history.  Look  at  the 
world  to-day.  Is  there  not  a  manifest  tendency 
on  the  part  of  all  things  to  assume  great  and 
world-wide  relations?  There  are  no  more  Alps, 
no  more  seas ;  all  chasms  are  bridged.  The  ends 
of  the  earth  are  approaching  each  other,  and  men 
are  swarming  hither  and  thither,  and  being  shuf- 
fled together  in  this  great  period  of  the  migra- 
tion of  nations.  Need  we  longer  inquire  what 
all  this  means?     God  wants  to  open  up  the  re- 


The  Impulsive  Type  of  Chris ttanity       6i 

mote  places  of  the  earth  and  the  gates  of  the 
nations  for  his  gospel.  And  he  is  rapidly  doing 
it.  All  the  world's  suburbs  of  hell  are  now  open 
to  gospel  light.  The  Scriptures  are  in  almost 
every  tongue.  The  land  is  dotted  with  schools. 
The  dark  places  have  light.  The  gates  have 
swung  open,  and  God  has  entered.  The  imme- 
diate and  imperative  duty  of  the  hour  is  a 
prompt,  earnest,  and  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
colossal  enterprise  of  a  world's  evangelization. 
The  spirit  of  missions  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  The 
spiritual  life  and  power  of  any  Church  are  di- 
rectly in  proportion  to  what  that  Church  is  doing 
outside  of  itself.  The  Church  is  here  in  order 
that  the  gospel  may  be  preached  unto  all  nations, 
not  alone  as  a  testimony,  but  as  a  transforming 
power.  To  be  indifferent  to  missions,  is  to  be 
indifferent  to  the  gospel;  to  be  unevangelistic, 
is  to  be  unevangelical.  A  Church  that  does  not 
let  its  influence  go  down  into  the  moral  deserts 
and  the  Dead  Seas  of  sin;  that  sends  not  the 
healing  flood  of  the  gospel  out  from  its  gates, 
making  a  track  of  greenness  and  beauty;  that 
does  not  go,  with  its  sympathies  and  prayers  and 
alms,  into  all  the  world — is  a  Church  with  a 
name  to  live,  but  dead ;  the  spirit  of  the  cross  is 
utterly  dead  in  her. 

We  are  living  near  the  beginning  of  what 


6^  Individuality 


might  be  called  the  third  great  missionary  era, 
and  what  might  prove  to  be  the  last  age  of  Chris- 
tian propagandism.  We  need  to  throw  ourselves 
with  new  heart  and  soul  into  this  most  cheering 
and  hopeful  of  all  enterprises.  Men  of  large 
hope;  men  of  predominant,  sanguine  tempera- 
ment; men  of  the  impulsive  and  enthusiastic 
type, — these  are  the  men  that  are  in  demand  in 
this  great  missionary  era.  The  Church  must 
have  leaders  capable  of  great  tmdertakings  and 
great  attainments.  There  is  a  certain  scope, 
horizon,  and  atmosphere  in  the  peculiar  com- 
plexion of  the  men  of  this  first  apostolic  group ; 
they  are  capable  of  missionary  enthusiasm. 
Spurgeon  writes:  ''We  need  ministers  who  live 
only  for  Christ,  and  desire  nothing  but  oppor- 
tunities for  promoting  his  glory,  for  spreading 
his  truth,  for  winning  by  power  those  whom 
Jesus  has  redeemed  by  his  precious  blood.  Men 
of  one  idea — these  are  they  that  shall  do  exploits 
in  the  camp  of  Israel.  We  need  red-hot,  white- 
hot  men,  who  glow  w^ith  intense  heat ;  whom  you 
can  not  approach  without  feeling  that  your  heart 
is  growing  warmer;  who  burn  their  way  in  all 
positions  straight  on  to  the  desired  work;  men 
like  thunderbolts  flung  from  Jehovah's  hand, 
crashing  through  every  opposing  thing  till  they 
have  reached  the  target  they  have  aimed  at ;  men 


The  Impulsive  Type  of  Christianity       63 

impelled  by  Omnipotence.  It  will  be  a  great  day 
for  the  Church  when  the  members  of  all  our 
Churches  arrive  at  such  a  glorious  state  of  heat 
as  that.  You  may  depend  upon  it,  that  enthusi- 
asm is  a  Hberal  education  for  a  Christian;  I 
mean,  nothing  makes  a  man  so  quick-sighted 
and  intelligent  in  the  service  of  God." 


Cije  'Cemptations  of  f mpulse 


65 


Want  of  depth,  want  of  real  seriousness,  want  of 
steadfastness,  want  of  endurance,  want  of  a  lasting  loyalty 
to  any  man,  or  to  any  course, — these  things  have  brought, 
not  a  tinge  of  disapprobation  only,  but  a  positive  contempt 
and  scorn  on  the  oversanguine  temperament,  and  espe- 
cially on  that  temperament  in  the  most  serious  of  all 
things — the  soul  of  man  and  the  salvation  of  God. 

— Alexander  Whyte^  D.  D. 
66 


Ci^e  Cemptationis  of  3!ntpuljSe 

Temptations,  for  the  most  part,  spring  from 
a  man's  temperament.  Men's  emotions  or  feel- 
ings furnish  the  impulse  or  desire  upon  which 
temptation  plays.  Many  imagine  that  tempta- 
tion belongs  to  certain  circumstances;  they 
blame  their  cross  for  their  sins.  They  say  within 
themselves,  "If  I  could  only  get  a  changed  cross, 
I  would  immediately  get  a  changed  life."  They 
forget  that  they  do  not  get  their  sin  from  their 
circumstances,  but  that  they  give  their  sin  to 
their  circumstances;  so  that  temptation,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  is  self-entertained.  Its 
strength,  its  power,  its  center,  lies  in  the  man's 
own  self.  What  he  is,  will  determine  how  he 
will  be  tempted.  How  strong  he  is  in  the  tempt- 
able  points,  will  determine  very  largely  the 
strength  of  the  temptation  itself.  Every  man, 
whatever  his  temperament,  must  strive  against 
the  whole  body  of  sin,  everything  which  is 
against  the  holy  will  of  God ;  and  yet  every  man 
has  some  one  besetting  fault,  which  is  his  own 
special  hindrance.  It  is  the  sin  which  has  most 
hold  of  his  mind,  and  so  it  is  the  cause  why  he 
most  often  offends  God.  It  comes  to  him  often- 
est,  tempts  him  most  strongly,  and  where  he  is 

67 


68  ludividuality 


the  \veakest  and  yields  the  most  readily.  It  is 
called  the  "besetting  sin,"  because  it  continu- 
ally besets  him — that  is,  it  is  always  about  him, 
always  on  the  watch  for  him.  It  entangles  him 
at  every  step.  It  becomes  his  companion.  No 
two  persons  have  exactly  the  same  temptations, 
as  no  two  minds  are  exactly  alike.  The  im- 
pulsive temperament  has  its  peculiar  type  of 
temptations.  They  are  distinctly  marked  and 
most  pronounced  in  the  life  and  character  of  the 
Apostle  Peter — the  representative  type  of  im- 
pulsive Christianity.     They  are: 

I.  Self-confidence.  The  vices  are  the  coun- 
terfeits of  virtues.  God  gives  love.  Satan  also 
fashions  lust.  God  bestows  courage.  Satan  in- 
spires foolhardiness.  The  saving  grace  of  faith 
ripens  into  confidence.  Satan  palms  upon  us  the 
vice  of  presumption.  What  was  Peter's  easily 
besetting  sin?  It  w^as  the  easily  besetting  sin  of 
all  the  natural  leaders  of  men — self-trust.  It  was 
boastful  self-reliance.  Peter  boasted  that  he 
stood  impregnable  when  he  uttered  the  vaunt, 
"Though  all  men  forsake  Thee,  yet  zvill  not  /." 
Hark !  listen  for  a  moment  after  that  presumptu- 
ous boast,  and  you  will  hear  a  fall!  "Then  Peter 
began  to  curse  and  to  swear,  saying,  I  know  not 
the  man."  A  presumptuous  spirit  is  always 
perilous.  "Who  is  afraid?"  is  the  vaunt  of  the 
presumptuous   professor.      "Who    fears?"    says 


The  Temptations  of  Impulse  69 

every  self-confident  Peter  in  the  Church — 
''others  may  fall,  but  I  am  in  no  danger."  Yet 
Peter  was  the  very  first  disciple  to  deny  his 
Master.  Says  Dr.  Cuyler:  ''I  always  feel  appre- 
hensions for  those  who,  on  entering  the  Church, 
make  a  very  fluent,  showy  profession,  in  which 
the  little  word  T  is  painfully  prominent.  They 
are  often  the  first  to  backslide.  I  had  rather 
hear  more  of  self-distrust  and  less  of  compla- 
cency. Poor  'Mr.  Fearing,'  in  Bunyan's  allegory, 
managed  to  reach  heaven  at  the  last,  though 
with  a  very  poor  opinion  of  himself;  while  self- 
conceited  *Mr.  Presumption'  was  left  on  the  road 
fast  asleep,  with  the  fetters  of  sin  upon  his  heels. 
When  a  Church  member  says,  'Who  fears?'  I 
am  ready  to  answer,  '/  am  afraid  for  you,  as  your 
pastor!'  I  always  expect  to  see  men  stumble 
when  they  hold  their  heads  too  high." 

At  every  turn  such  need  to  remember  this 
saying,  "Be  not  high-minded."  Peter  said  he 
would  never  forsake  Christ,  and  forsook  him 
first.  The  great  danger  of  impulsiveness  is  a 
proneness  to  overestimate  self,  and  to  under- 
rate others.  "Though  all  men — yet  not  I,"  said 
Peter.  Such  men  are  in  the  greatest  danger  of 
falling.  All  men  are,  even  those  who  really  are 
standing,  but  especially  those  who  "think"  they 
are  standing.  It  is  the  self-consciousness  that 
this  "thinking"  involves,  the  self-satisfaction  it 


70  Individtiality 


implies,  the  self-gratiilation  it  engenders,  that  is 
the  source  of  peril.  When  a  man  commits  some 
great  sin,  his  friends  often  say:  "Well,  I  never 
would  have  thought  of  him  doing  that.  He  is 
the  last  man  in  the  world  to  have  done  it."  And 
that  is  just  why  he  did  it,  because  he  thought 
that  he  was  quite  safe,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
he  took  no  precaution  against  falling.  Man's 
natural  strength  is  right  in  his  way  when  he  is 
out  of  joint  with  God,  and  he  is  putting  between 
himself  and  the  thing  needed  the  strength  of  an 
arrogant  reason.  That  self-reliance  wdiich  is  so 
necessary  to  him  in  secular  things,  is  a  hindrance 
to  him  in  spiritual  things.  That  independent 
purpose  and  determination  by  which  a  man  is 
carried  forward  through  his  outward  life,  when 
it  comes  to  the  inward  and  spiritual  life,  is  the 
very  thing  that  is  an  obstacle  to  his  success ;  and 
this  is  the  reason  why  we  do  not  find  God's  yoke 
easy,  or  his  burden  light.  Peter  was  really  be- 
lieving in  himself,  in  his  own  constancy  and  de- 
termination. The  worthlessness  of  such  a  faith 
w^as  very  soon  to  be  demonstrated.  For  that 
faith  in  himself  he  was  to  substitute  a  faith  in 
One  who  was  able  to  keep  him. 

2.  Rashness.  One  of  the  great  sins  of  im- 
pulse is  rashness.  "The  man  of  a  purely  san- 
guine temperament,"  says  a  medical  writer,  "his 
blood  soon  boils  and  soon  cools;  his  heart  rules 


The  Templatwns  of  Impulse 


his  head ;  action  precedes  thought.  It  is  a  word 
and  a  blow,  and  then  great  sorrow  for  it.  I  know 
two  partners  in  business ;  one  sanguine,  the  other 
bilious.  The  bilious  has  often  to  throw  cold 
water  on  the  projects  of  the  sanguine,  who  al- 
most invariably  fires  up  and  says  too  much,  and 
then  he  is  miserable,  and  ready  to  allow  and  to 
yield  up  anything." 

When  Jesus  was  in  the  garden  and  about  to 
be  arrested,  and  Peter  drew  a  sword  and  cut  off 
the  ear  of  Malchus,  his  act  was  a  rash  one. 
Love  had  been  the  moving  principle  of  Peter's 
life.  He  was  prompted  in  this  act,  not  by  greed, 
ambition,  or  revenge,  but  by  sympathy  with  his 
Master;  a  generous  desire  to  protect  him.  But 
this  impulse,  good  in  itself,  was  improperly  di- 
rected ;  and  how  much  good  feeling  is  so  still ! 
Did  Peter  expect  his  Master  to  say,  "Well 
done?"  If  so,  he  was  disappointed;  for  Christ 
had  only  words  of  disapproval.  How  could 
Christ  approve  of  Peter's  deed?  It  was  con- 
trary to  the  old  law,  ''Thou  shalt  not  kill ;"  and 
to  the  new,  that  we  should  return  good  for  evil. 
Peter  fell  through  rashness.  The  Lord  recog- 
nized that  Aveakness  when  he  said:  "Simon, 
Simon,  behold,  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  you, 
that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat ;  but  I  have  prayed 
for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not;  and  when  thou 
art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren."    Notice 


72  hidividuality 


the  discrimination  which  our  I^ord  makes  in  pray- 
ing for  his  disciples.  This  becomes  apparent 
only  when  we  look  closely  at  the  words.  The 
"you"  in  the  first  clause  is  plural.  "Satan  asked 
to  have  you,  to  sift  you,'' — that  is,  all  of  the  dis- 
ciples. "But  I  have  made  suppHcation  for  ihce, 
Simon."  All  the  company  were  in  danger;  but 
the  prayer  was  only  for  one. 

Why  was  this?  Why  did  our  Lord  make  this 
discrimination?  And  why  was  it  Simon  was 
chosen  for  special  intercession?  Was  it  because 
he  was  dearer  to  Christ  than  any  of  the  others? 
Was  it  because  Peter,  in  his  character,  was  the 
most  amiable  and  beautiful  of  all  the  disciples? 
Nay ;  it  was  because  of  Peter's  peculiar  tempera- 
ment. Our  Lord  looked  down  upon  the  little 
company  with  tender,  compassionate  heart,  and 
saw  that  it  would  go  hardest  of  all  that  night 
with  Simon.  He  would  be  in  greater  peril  than 
any  of  the  others.  His  rashness  and  impulsive- 
ness would  expose  him  to  the  fiercest  assaults, 
and  render  him  least  able  to  resist.  And  for  this 
very  reason,  Christ  made  a  distinction  in  his 
favor,  ofifering  special  prayer  for  him.  He  did 
not  pray  for  John ;  John's  calmness  would  be  an 
effectual  shield  for  him.  He  did  not  pray  for 
Thomas  and  the  others;  their  caution  would 
keep  them  away  from  the  danger.     He  prayed 


The  Temptations  of  Impulse  73 

for  Simon,  because  he  was,  of  all,  the  most  liable 
to  fall. 

Impulsiveness  is  prone  to  rashness.  Cotton 
Mather  used  to  say  that  there  was  a  gentleman 
mentioned  in  Acts  xix,  to  whom  he  was  often 
and  greatly  indebted ;  namely,  the  town-clerk  of 
Ephesus,  whose  counsel  was,  "Do  nothing 
rashly."  And  on  any  proposal  of  consequence 
he  would  say,  "Let  us  consult  a  little  with  the 
town-clerk  of  Ephesus." 

3.  Capriciousness.  This  is  often  a  very  seri- 
ous temptation  of  impulse.  It  shows  itself  in  the 
way  the  over-sanguine,  impulsive,  and  enthusi- 
astic temperament  takes  up,  and  runs  away  with, 
this  and  that  new  thing.  The  victims  of  this 
temperament  are  always  discovering  some  new 
thing.  Lo  here !  or  lo  there !  they  are  continu- 
ally crying.  But  a  short  time  comes  and  goes, 
and  they  have  discovered  another  new  scheme, 
plan,  program,  or  leader.  "They  are  all  good 
things  in  their  place,"  says  a  writer  on  this  tem- 
perament; "they  are  all  needful  and  necessary 
things ;  but  they  are  all  injured  past  repair  when 
they  get  into  the  hot  hands  of  the  men  who  think 
about,  talk  about,  and  will  let  you  think  about, 
and  talk  about,  nothing  else." 

Much  that  now  floats  on  the  surface  attracts 
the  gaze  of  men;  it  absorbs  the  attention  just 


74  Individuality 


because  it  is  on  the  surface.  Yet  the  flood  of 
years  will  sweep  it  away,  and  it  will  not  even 
form  a  bubble  on  the  current  of  history.  There 
are  scientific  as  well  as  aesthetic  and  literary 
fashions  which  change  with  the  seasons.  There 
are  burning  questions  now  which  will  not  even 
leave  a  deposit  of  dead  ashes  for  the  next  gener- 
ation to  behold  as  an  evidence  that  something 
has  been  consumed.  ReHgious  problems  may 
change.  But  a  desire  for  something  new  is  not 
necessarily  indicative  of  progress.  Indeed,  it 
may  be  indicative  of  regress.  It  may  not  be  an 
earnest  desire  for  something  better,  but  a  mere 
restless,  uneasy  craving  for  change.  We  would 
not  disparage  legitimate  desire  for  progress. 
But  we  contend  that  progress  and  restlessness 
are  not  synonymous  terms.  It  is  not  the  seeking 
of  ''some  new  thing"  which  is  wrong,  but  the 
''doing  nothing  else  but  either  to  tell  or  to 
hear  some  new  thing."  Indeed,  so  far  from 
being  good,  it  is  evil.  It  indicates  a  fevered  con- 
dition of  the  system — an  unhealthy  and  morbid 
state.  It  begets  instability  of  character  and  pur- 
pose. 

Now,  having  seen  how  Peter,  the  represent- 
ative of  impulsive  Christianity,  fell  through  his 
characteristic  temperament,  let  us  note  his  resto- 
ration to  apostleship.  The  occasion  was  after 
they  had  breakfasted  on  the  shore  of  Galilee. 


The   Temptations  of  hnpulse  75 

There  are  times  which  reveal  to  us  the  mysteri- 
ous identity  of  our  ever-changing  Hves.  That 
occasion  was  such  a  period  in  the  hfe  of  Peter. 
The  past  was  with  him ;  what  were  its  memories 
for  Peter?  Of  eager  haste  and  painful  failure; 
of  love  for  Christ  so  true  and  yet  so  powerless ; 
of  self-confidence  and  of  unfaithfulness.  With 
chastened,  humbled  spirit  he  must  have  sat  and 
pondered ;  feeling  that  not  in  his  devotedness  to 
Christ,  but  in  Christ's  love  to  him,  lay  his  hope 
that  he  might  be  faithful  to  his  apostleship,  if 
he  should  be  reinstated  in  it.  And  to  these,  his 
thoughts,  Christ  at  length  gives  expression: 
"Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  more  than 
these?"  The  Master  addresses  himself  to  the 
painful  yet  necessary  duty  of  testing  the  thor- 
oughness of  Peter's  repentance.  Confidence, 
once  forfeited  by  unfaithfulness,  can  not  be  im- 
mediately restored,  nor  indeed  at  all  without 
some  evidence  of  a  genuine  change  of  mind. 
Jesus  himself  asked  the  question,  and  he  asked 
it  until  he  grieved  Peter.  Had  he  not  made  his 
Master's  heart  bleed,  and  was  it  not  fit  that  he 
should  feel  heart-wounds  himself? 

The  leading  points  of  the  ordeal  to  which  the 
apostle  was  put  may  be  briefly  noted.  Jesus  did 
not  call  Peter  a  rock  now;  but  "Simon,  son  of 
Jonas" — not  Peter,  the  baptismal  name  of  dis- 
cipleship.     "Lovest  thou  me  more  than  these?" 


76  Individuality 


The  language  refers,  without  doubt,  to  the  other 
disciples.  Peter  once  affirmed  the  pre-eminence 
of  his  loyalty  and  love.  In  the  fullness  of  his 
self-sufficiency,  he  had  declared  that,  though  all 
the  rest  should  forsake  him,  yet  he  would  follow 
him  even  to  prison  and  to  death.  But  now  that 
high  self-confidence  had  received  a  sad  fall ;  and 
the  remembrance  of  his  late  disgraceful  conduct 
was  too  fresh  in  his  mind  to  allow  him  any  more 
to  assume  that  tone  of  presumption.  The  Lord 
brings  it  all  up  before  his  mind,  in  the  question 
which  he  addresses  to  him,  in  order  that  he  may 
purge  himself  of  his  self-confident  boasting. 
Peter,  in  his  modesty  and  humility,  is  content 
with  simply  affirming  his  own  affection,  but 
without  any  ungracious  comparison. 

His  first  answer  was  easily  spoken;  it  came 
only  from  the  surface  of  his  mind;  it  was  little 
better  than  "Of  course  I  love  thee."  But 
Christ's  close  and  penetrating  way  of  putting  the 
question  a  second  time  overawed  the  disciple, 
and  brought  an  answer  from  much  deeper  down. 
The  third  time,  Jesus  sent  the  question  like  a 
sword  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  soul,  where  it 
drew  blood,  and  the  answer  was  a  groan  of  pain 
out  of  the  depths. 

"He  puts  the  question  to  us  thrice,"  as  Dr. 
Stalker  observes,  "because  there  are  three  stories 
in   our   nature;   the  uppermost   is   feeling,    the 


The  Temptations  of  Impulse  77 

middle  one  is  intellect,  and  the  basement  is  will ; 
Jesus  opens  the  door  of  each,  and  asks,  'Lovest 
thou  me?'  "  ''The  will  is  the  part  of  our  nature 
out  of  which  resolutions  and  actions  come,  and 
on  this  the  Master  specially  wishes  to  have  a 
hold."  Love's  real  trial  comes  when  it  is  called 
upon  to  endure  and  sacrifice.  Cowper's  lines  to 
Mary  Unwin  are  a  perfect  example  of  such  love. 
Have  we  a  love  to  Christ  which  makes  us  slay 
besetting  sins  because  he  wills  it,  devise  liberal 
things  for  his  cause,  confess  him  fearlessly  before 
men,  and  rejoice  to  suffer  for  his  sake? 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  how  these  questions 
revealed  Peter's  softened  spirit.  To  each  of  his 
replies,  "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee,"  comes 
the  Master's  rejoinder,  ''Feed  my  sheep,  feed  my 
lambs."  And  from  the  enjoining  of  present  duty, 
Jesus  passes  to  foretell  the  sufferings  which  the 
discharge  of  that  duty  would,  in  the  case  of 
Peter,  entail:  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
When  thou  wast  young,  thou  girdedst  thyself, 
and  walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest :  but  when 
thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy 
hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry 
thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not.  This  spake  he, 
signifying  by  what  death  he  should  glorify  God. 
And  when  he  had  spoken  this,  he  saith  unto  him, 
Follow  me."  This  oracle  darkly  told  of  coming 
events  that  would  strike  at  all  Peter's  natural 


78  Individuality 


loves  and  likings.  He  liked  the  free,  impetuous 
joy  of  living ;  he  was  to  be  ''bound."  He  liked 
to  take  the  lead;  he  was  to  "be  carried."  He 
liked  to  have  his  own  will ;  he  was  to  be  carried 
''whither  he  would  not."  He  liked  the  glory  of 
heroism;  he  was  to  die  on  a  cross.  He  liked 
rapidity  of  movement ;  he  was  to  plod  on  to  old 
age  without  the  promise  of  a  brilliant  career. 
Before  a  man's  life  can  fully  answer  the  question, 
"Lovest  thou  me?"  he  must  be  ready  to  give  up 
his  own  choice  as  to  the  way  of  showing  it,  and 
passively  accept  or  actively  obey  the  will  of  God 
alone.  That  "other,"  who  was  to  lead  Peter 
against  his  own  will,  is  God,  with  his  powerful 
hand.  This  leading  we  see  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles. 


VI 

^pirit^jTilleti  impulse 


79 


A  character  is  a  completely-fasliioned  will. 

— Novalis. 


The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  only  power  that  can 
take  our  impulsiveness,  control,  direct,  and  adjust  it  so  as 
to  make  it  accessory  to  a  holy  life  and  the  advancement  of 
Christ's  kingdom.  The  Holy  Ghost,  back  of  and  within 
our  impulses,  can  make  them  tributary  to  the  kingdom. 
Peter,  who  had  been  a  stone,  became  a  rock  when  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  stone  is  movable,  but  the  rock 
is  steadfast.  —S,  A.  Keen,  D.  D. 

80 


^pitiufillth  Sltnpirtjse 

The  proof  of  old  that  God  was  in  his  sanctu- 
ary was  the  shekinah  in  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
The  proof  to-day  is,  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  peo- 
ple's hearts.  "Ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  if  so 
be  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you."  This  deter- 
mines all  power,  achieves  all  victory,  and  works 
all  spiritual  transformation.  The  gift  of  the 
Spirit  does  not  destroy  our  individuality  or  nat- 
ural temperament.  After  Pentecost,  Peter — the 
representative  of  this  group — was  Peter  still. 
We  find  him  the  same  man  of  impulse;  the  first 
to  receive,  utter,  and  act  on  a  great  Christian 
truth.  And  is  it  not  perfectly  natural  that  the 
man  who  appears  so  original  and  audacious  in 
connection  with  some  great  truth  at  one  tirne, 
will  again  show  the  same  attributes  of  originality 
and  audacity  in  connection  with  some  other 
truth?  We  should  have  been  much  surprised 
if,  in  the  history  of  the  nascent  Church,  Peter 
had  been  found  playing  a  part  altogether  devoid 
of  originalities  and  audacities.  He  would,  in 
that  case,  have  been  very  unlike  his  former  self. 
Before  Pentecost,  Peter  stands  as  the  expression 
of  the  impulsive  temperament;  after  Pentecost, 
6  8i 


82  Individitality 


he  stands  as  the  expression  of  spirit-filled  im- 
pulse. 

And  now,  let  us  study  some  of  the  effects 
which  accompany  spirit-filled  impulse. 

I.  There  comes  with  it  the  spirit  of  courage. 
The  practical,  ethical  result  of  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost was  moral  courage.  The  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  inspires  fearlessness,  courage,  boldness. 
It  begets  spiritual  heroism.  Fear  is  always  an 
enervating  and  enfeebling  presence.  It  disarms 
one  of  personal  power.  The  Christian  life,  domi- 
nated by  fear,  is  helpless  and  strengthless.  But 
the  Spirit-filled  man  knows  the  fear  of  God,  and 
knows  no  other  fear.  Take  Peter  as  an  example. 
We  know  what  he  has  been  up  to  this  time — 
ardent,  impulsive,  cowardly.  But  since  we  last 
saw  him,  he  has  been  the  subject  of  pentecostal 
influence.  We  have,  therefore,  to  look  on  that 
picture  and  on  this;  and  upon  the  change  dis- 
covered between  the  two  pictures  we  may  found 
an  estimate  of  the  value  of  spiritual  inspiration. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  'Teter,  standing  up 
with  the  eleven,  lifted  up  his  voice  and  spake 
forth."  (Acts  ii,  14.)  What  a  change  since  his 
denial!  Peter  the  denier  transformed  into 
Peter  the  heroic  witness!  Peter's  sermon  was 
pointed  and  courageous.  He  did  not  flinch  from 
giving  his  view  of  the  career  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth ;  neither  did  he  go  about  to  find  soft  words 


spirit-filled  Impulse  83 

for  the  sin  which  he  charged  home  to  the  con- 
sciences of  his  hearers;  but  he  said  right  out, 
''Him  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have 
crucified  and  slain ;"  "that  same  Jesus  whom  ye 
crucified  is  both  Lord  and  Christ."  Can  this  be, 
indeed,  the  voice  of  Peter?  What  has  come  over 
him?  How  is  all  this  to  be  explained?  The  ex- 
planation is  easy.  He  is  now  "filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

The  same  courageous  impulse  may  be  traced 
in  Peter's  speech  which  followed  upon  the  cure 
of  the  lame  man  at  the  Gate  Beautiful.  (Acts  iii, 
11-26.)  Mark  how  pointedly  he  addresses  the 
multitude  that  had  followed  them  to  Solomon's 
Porch !  He  charges  home  upon  them,  in  unmis- 
takable terms,  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  He  says:  "Ye  delivered  him  up;"  "Ye 
denied  him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate;"  "Ye  de- 
sired a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you ;"  "Ye 
killed  the  Prince  of  Life."  And  then  he  adds,  "I 
know  that  through  ignorance  ye  did  it."  That 
speech  is  a  greater  miracle  than  the  lame  man's 
cure.  The  "great  miracles  are  all  wrought 
within;"  and  surely  a  great  miracle  had  been 
wrought  upon  Peter. 

The  address  of  Peter  that  day  won  two  thou- 
sand new  disciples;  and  now  the  success  of  the 
apostles  brings  them  into  conflict  with  the  San- 
hedrim.    The  Jewish  authorities,  unwilling  that 


84  Individuality 


the  people  should  be  taught  by  any  but  them- 
selves, laid  hold  of  Peter  and  John,  and  put  them 
in  prison  until  the  next  day.  Peter  had  once 
boasted,  "I  am  ready  to  go  with  thee  to  prison." 
He  was  not  ready  then,  and  hence  the  folly  of 
his  boast.  He  was  ready  now — he  was  ''filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost" — and  so  did  not  boast.  In 
the  prison  the  apostles  remained  for  the  night; 
and  on  the  morrow  they  were  formally  arraigned 
before  the  Council. 

And  now  mark  the  fearlessness  of  Peter.  The 
two  parties  are  in  direct  collision.  It  is  the  first 
battle  Christianity  has  had  to  fight  since  Christ's 
departure.  When  the  imperious  question  was 
asked,  "By  what  power,  or  by  what  name,"  this 
deed  had  been  done,  how  did  it  bear  itself  in  the 
conflict?  Did  it  take  counsel  of  safety,  compro- 
mise, policy?  No!  what  one  is  struck  with  in 
the  action  of  the  apostles  is  an  audacity  that  is 
caution,  a  calmness  that  is  power,  and  a  love  that 
impressed  friends  and  foes.  ''Peter,  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  declares  that  it  is  by  the  power 
of  the  risen  Christ  the  healed  man  stood  before 
them.  The  confidence,  the  contempt  of  suffer- 
ing, the  holy  elevation  of  soul  with  which  Peter 
uttered  that  sentiment,  filled  all  with  surprise. 
"When  they  saw  the  boldness  of  Peter  and  John 
.  .  .  they  marveled."  That  was  the  result  of 
Peter's  boldness.    Had  he  wavered,  all  had  been 


spirit-filled  Impulse  85 

lost.  His  courage  saved  the  Church.  And 
when,  after  a  private  consultation,  the  Council 
charged  them  not  to  speak  or  to  teach  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  threatened  them  with  death 
if  they  should,  Peter  and  John  could  answer  their 
threatenings,  by  saying,  "Whether  it  be  right  in 
the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  more  than 
unto  God,  judge  ye.  For  we  can  not  but  speak 
the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard."  The 
maid  that  taunted  the  rough-spoken  Galilean 
was  too  much  for  Peter ;  but  when  he  stands  be- 
fore Annas  and  the  other  members  of  the  grand 
Court  of  the  nation,  what  of  him?  How  does 
the  narrative  read?  "Then  Peter,  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  that  is  a  thousand  Peters; 
"Peter  multiplied  by  the  very  Deity,"  says  Dr. 
Joseph  Parker,  of  London. 

"Being  let  go,  they  returned  to  their  own 
company."  A  night  in  jail,  and  fierce  threats 
from  the  Council,  had  wrought  no  change,  ex- 
cept to  increase  their  attachment  to  a  cause  that 
could  not  be  gainsaid.  They  had  astonished  the 
enemy  by  their  very  courage;  but  they  knew 
themselves  too  well  to  trust  to  this.  Peter  is 
no  longer  the  self-confident  apostle ;  "for  he  that 
was  a  hero  in  the  last  battle  may  turn  coward  in 
the  next;"  and  therefore,  together  with  their 
brethren,  they  ask  God  for  boldness:  "And  now, 
Ivord,  behold  their  threatenings :  and  grant  unto 


86  Individuality 


thy  servants,  that  with  all  boldness  they  may 
speak  thy  Word,  by  stretching  forth  thine  hand 
to  heal ;  and  that  signs  and  wonders  may  be  done 
by  the  name  of  thy  holy  child  Jesus.  And  when 
they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken  where 
they  were  assembled  together;  and  they  were 
all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake 
the  Word  of  God  with  boldness.''  Thus  heaven 
again  responded  to  earth ;  and  as  Dr.  A.  T.  Pier- 
son  observes,  ''Not  only  is  the  cowardly  and 
timid  denier  of  Christ  turned  into  a  courageous 
and  brave  defender,  but  the  whole  assembly  is 
moved  to  pray  for  'all  boldness,'  and  the  answer 
comes  at  once  in  the  form  and  manner  desired ; 
and  the  boldness  is  traced  distinctly  to  the  in- 
filling of  the  Spirit,  as  though  the  fullness  within 
could  not  be  restrained,  but,  like  a  stream  burst- 
ing through  all  barriers,  sweeping  away  all  ob- 
stacles, must  scoop  out  for  itself  a  channel  in 
speech."  And  no  one  attribute  is  more  needful 
to-day  for  Christ's  witnesses  than  Holy  Spirit 
boldness  due  to  Holy  Spirit  fullness. 

In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Acts  we  find  Peter 
again  in  prison.  Encouraged  by  the  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  minds  of  the  Jews  by  the  killing 
of  James,  and  wishing  still  further  to  secure  their 
applause,  Herod  apprehended  Peter,  and  put 
him  in  prison  until  the  Passover  should  be  over, 
intending  then  to  make  a  grand  public  spectacle 


Spirit'filled  Impulse  87 

of  his  execution.  The  sentence  has  gone  out 
that  to-morrow  he  must  die,  amidst  every  con- 
dition that  should  afford  his  enemies  a  gloating 
triumph.  Little  wonder  if  we  find  him  cast 
down,  beset  with  grief  and  fear.  But  look,  here 
he  lies,  asleep.  Well,  what  else  should  he  be 
doing?  Of  old  he  slept  because  the  flesh  was 
weak ;  now  he  sleeps  because  his  faith  is  strong. 
"Ah,  it  is  the  very  climax  of  faith,"  says  one, 
"when  it  has  learnt  to  sleep.  Many  a  man  can 
fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  who  can  not  sleep 
the  good  sleep  of  faith."  "Filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  This  made  the  difference  between 
Peter  before  the  ascension  and  Peter  after  it. 
Impulsive  ardor,  fear,  cowardice — that  is  Peter 
by  nature.  Effusive,  impulsive  daring  changed 
into  granite-like  firmness  and  steadfast  cour- 
age— that  is  Peter  by  grace. 

Only  once  in  his  subsequent  history  do  we 
find  a  little  of  the  old  vacillation — when  he  failed 
to  pursue  a  strictly  straightforward  course  to- 
ward the  Gentile  Jews  at  Antioch.  (Galatians  ii, 
II,  12.)  But  he  would  seem,  even  then,  to  have 
received  the  rebuke  of  Paul,  his  fellow-apostle, 
in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  and  to  have  found  it  a 
"precious  oil,  which  did  not  break  his  head," 
because  his  heart  was  purified  by  faith.  Herein 
was  a  great  triumph  of  grace;  for,  although  it 
may  seem  a  paradox  to  say  it,  there  are  few 


88  Individuality 


things  which  test  a  man's  real  Christianity  more 
than  reproof  for  that  which  is  actually  blame- 
worthy. 

How  beautifully,  likewise,  this  same  coura- 
geous impulse  is  exempHfied  in  the  character  of 
the  apostle  James!  Herod  had  ''stretched  out 
his  hands  to  vex  certain  of  the  Church."  "And 
he  killed  James  the  brother  of  John  with  the 
sword."  Such  is  the  short  record  of  the  first 
and  only  apostolical  martyrdom  of  which  we 
have  any  account  in  Scripture.  Of  this  incident 
no  details  are  given.  We  do  not  know  how 
James  should  have  become  a  man  so  marked 
that  the  hand  of  authority  struck  at  him  in  pref- 
erence to  any  of  the  other  apostles.  But  no 
doubt  it  was  by  the  boldness  of  his  testimony  for 
Christ  that  he  won  this  distinction.  He  was  a 
Son  of  Thunder  in  days  when  the  impetuosity 
of  nature  had  not  yet  been  checked  by  the  influ- 
ence of  grace.  But  there  came  the  mighty  trans- 
formation of  Pentecost.  His  zeal  still  burnt 
with  a  hot,  unhidden  flame,  which  attracted  to 
itself  the  earliest  storm  of  hostile  attack. 

Thus  we  see,  to  be  ''filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost"  is  to  be  filled  with  all  boldness  and  cour- 
age. When  a  man  is  Spirit-filled,  he  will  little 
heed  what  men  think  of  him,  say  about  him,  or 
do  unto  him. 

2.  Another  effect  of  Spirit-filled  impulse  is 


spirit-filled  Impulse  89 

the  spirit  of  evangelism.  The  age  of  the  Spirit 
is  the  age  of  missions.  Campbell,  in  his  "After 
Pentecost,  What?"  emphasizes  this  fact:  "On 
the  day  of  Pentecost  the  missionary  spirit  was 
born.  All  upon  whom  the  Spirit  fell  were  filled 
with  'the  power  of  a  pneumatic  enthusiasm.' 
They  were  seized  with  a  burning  desire  to  con- 
vert the  world.  Without  waiting  for  fields  to 
open,  they  opened  them;  without  looking  afar 
for  congenial  fields,  they  entered  those  that  were 
nearest  and  neediest.  The  burden  of  the  Lord 
was  upon  them  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings  of 
salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Filled  with 
an  operative  conviction,  and  inspired  by  a 
militant  faith,  they  swept  over  land  and  sea, 
overturning  pagan  religions,  and  bringing  the 
nations  to  Immanuel's  feet."  Novvdiere  is  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  more  distinctly  seen  than  in 
the  origination  and  superintendence  of  missions. 
In  the  simple  story  of  the  primitive  mission,  as 
recorded  in  Acts  xiii,  we  see  how  every  step  in 
the  enterprise  was  originated  and  directed  by  the 
presiding  Spirit.  In  her  missionary  work  the 
Church  is  one  with  the  Spirit. 

The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  spirit  of  missions. 
Herein  is  the  secret  of  true  evangelism.  Look 
at  the  record  of  conversions  after  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  poured  out  on  the  day  of  Pentecost! 
"There  were  added  unto  them  in  that  day  about 


90  hidividuality 


three  thousand  souls"  (Acts  ii,  41).  "The  number 
of  the  men  came  to  be  about  five  thousand''  (Acts 
iv,  4).  "Added  to  the  Lord  mtdtitudes  both  of 
men  and  women"  (Acts  v,  14).  "The  number 
of  the  disciples  multiplied  in  Jerusalem  exceed- 
ingly, and  a  great  company  of  the  priests  were 
obedient  to  the  faith"  (Acts  vi,  7).  "The  multi- 
tudes (in  Samaria)  gave  heed  with  one  accord 
unto  the  things  that  were  spoken"  (Acts  viii,  6). 
"And  all  that  dwelt  at  Lydda  and  in  Sharon  saw 
him,  and  they  turned  to  the  Lord"  (Acts  ix,  35). 
"It  became  known  throughout  all  Joppa;  and 
many  believed  on  the  Lord"  (Acts  ix,  42). 
"While  Peter  yet  spake  these  words,  the  Holy 
Ghost  fell  on  all  which  heard  the  word"  (Acts  x, 
44).  "And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them : 
and  a  great  number  that  believed,  turned  unto  the 
Lord"  (Acts  xi,  21).  "And  the  next  Sabbath 
almost  the  zvhole  city  was  gathered  together  to 
hear  the  Word  of  God"  (Acts  xiii,  44).  "And 
so  spake  that  a  g^rat  midtitude  both  of  Jews  and 
of  Greeks  believed"  (Acts  xiv,  i).  "And  when 
they  had  preached  the  gospel  to  that  city,  and 
had  made  many  disciples"  (Acts  xiv,  21).  "The 
churches  .  .  .  increased  in  number  daily" 
(Acts  xvi,  5).  "Crispus  .  .  .  believed  .  .  . 
and  many  of  the  Corinthians  hearing  believed" 
(Acts  xviii,  8).  "So  mightily  grew  the  Word  of 
the  Lord  and  prevailed"  (Acts  xix,  18-20). 


spirit-filled  Impulse  91 

The  evangelistic  spirit  is  the  crowning  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  for  service.  From  the  time  of 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  Pentecost, 
whenever  God  has  been  in  the  Church,  her  influ- 
ence has  been  immediate  and  beneficent.  Noth- 
ing has  made  her  influence  a  ''track  of  fragrance" 
throughout  the  world  but  this  presence.  Noth- 
ing transformed  deserts  into  fertility  but  this. 
But  whenever  she  has  grown  rich  and  trusted 
in  her  riches,  has  grown  numerous  and  trusted 
in  her  numbers,  has  grown  very  respectable  and 
trusted  in  her  respectability;  whenever  she  has 
bristled  all  over  with  the  outward  forms  of  ac- 
tivity, and  has  substituted  these  for  spirit  and 
life,  she  has  forgotten  where  the  hidings  of  her 
power  were,  she  has  let  go  her  hold  of  God. 
The  one  sole  condition  of  power  on  the  part  of 
the  Church  is  that  she  be  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
God.  What  is  needed  to  reach  the  multitudes 
of  the  unsaved  is  the  pentecostal  blessing. 
When  the  Holy  Ghost  fills  us,  we  shall  not  be 
incessantly  arguing  the  question,  ''What  is  the 
best  method  to  reach  the  masses?"  Whenever 
the  presence  of  the  vSpirit  is  powerfully  felt  in  the 
Church,  it  soon  settles  that  question.  Let  the 
spring  impart  new  life  to  the  roots  of  the  trees, 
and  the  life  will  at  once  be  transmitted  to  the 
branches,  covering  them  with  abundant  foliage. 
Let  the  warm,  genial  months  come  round,  re- 


92  Individuality 


viving  the  drooping  nature  of  the  bird  after  the 
long  dreary  winter  cold,  and  the  bird  shows  it 
immediately  in  his  song.  He  does  not  sing  be- 
cause he  thinks  he  ought;  he  sings  because  he 
must.  And  it  is  a  poor  way  of  promoting  the 
evangelistic  zeal  of  the  Church  to  demonstrate 
constantly  what  she  ought  to  do.  It  is  useless  to 
lay  down  rules  for  the  guidance  of  the  Churches 
in  reaching  the  masses,  unless  we  supply 
them  with  the  motive  power.  The  Holy  Ghost 
alone  can  fill  us  with  an  exuberance  of  love  that 
reaches  others,  and  settles  all  questions  about 
how  to  do  it.  It  is  a  divine  enthusiasm  of  love 
which  makes  one  a  successful  soul-winner.  This 
divine  enthusiasm  of  love  is  not  only  a  passion 
for  souls,  but  also  for  the  service — the  warfare 
by  which  they  are  to  be  reached.  As  another 
has  well  said :  "There  are  those  who  think  they 
have  a  love  for  souls,  but  have  an  aversion 
toward  all  aggressive  spiritual  movements  in  the 
interest  of  souls."  When  this  endowment  of 
love  comes,  it  puts  into  the  soul  an  aggressive 
spiritual  life.  How  eagerly  it  precipitates  action, 
leads  assault,  plans  sieges  for  the  salvation  of 
the  people ! 

The  world  furnishes  but  few  such  men  as 
Tholuck  of  Germany.  On  the  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  his  life-work,  amid  a  multitude  of  pupils 
young  and  old,  he  uttered  the  memorable  saying 


spirit-filled  Impulse  93 

that  deserves  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold: 
"Not  simply  preaching,  not  simply  teaching, 
hut  a  love  zvhich  seeks  and  follows.'"  That  had 
been  the  watchword  of  his  long,  eventful  life. 
We  have  never  seen  this  earnest,  unceasing  love- 
life  better  illustrated  than  in  the  instance  of  the 
Rev.  John  Milne,  of  Perth,  Scotland,  whose 
faithful  biography  has  been  given  to  the  world 
by  his  faithful  friend  and  co-laborer,  Horatius 
Bonar.  If  there  was  ever  a  man  to  whom  Christ 
and  Christ-work  was  the  ruling  passion  of  life; 
if  there  ever  was  one  possessed  of  the  ''love  that 
seeks  and  follows,"  it  was  John  Milne.  We  see 
him  constantly  engaged  in  his  Master's  service. 
At  home  and  abroad,  among  acquaintances  and 
among  strangers,  on  foot,  in  the  stage,  in  the 
car,  with  the  rich  and  the  poor,  to  the  fellow- 
traveler,  to  the  fisherman,  to  the  stone-breaker 
by  the  road,  to  the  servant,  to  the  beggar,  to  the 
little  child,  pleading  for  the  soul, — it  was  the 
daily  habit  of  his  life  for  many  years.  He  sought 
out  those  whom  others  passed  by.  If  too  early  for 
the  cars,  he  would  look  up  some  station-master 
or  porter,  to  whom  he  might  preach  the  word  of 
life.  What  a  touching  scene:  this  man  of  God 
going  into  the  streets  of  the  city  at  a  late  hour 
of  the  night  seeking  out  the  night-watchman, 
pleading  with  him  to  give  his  heart  now  to  Jesus ; 
and,  after  talking  earnestly,  saying,  "Turn  the 


94  Individuality 


bright  side  of  your  lantern  this  way ;"  then  tak- 
ing from  his  pocket  the  Httle  sacred  vokime 
which  he  ahvays  carried,  reading  a  portion,  and 
seeking  to  impress  it  upon  the  heart  and  con- 
science, and  to  engage  an  immediate  compliance 
with  the  requirements  of  God !  His  anxiety  for 
souls  manifested  itself  in  ways  that  would  have 
been  unthought  of  by  others;  and  he  not  only 
sought  out,  but  follozved  up  the  soul  until  the 
work  was  done. 

How  much  need  there  is  that  this  love  should 
glow  in  the  heart  and  go  out  in  the  life  of  the 
private  Christian,  as  well  as  the  public  ambas- 
sador of  Christ!  How  strikingly  is  this  illus- 
trated in  the  life  of  Harlan  Page!  A  few  such 
Christians  in  any  Church  would  stir  a  whole 
community,  and  keep  it  stirred.  The  prerequi- 
site is  a  baptism  that  remains;  a  being  filled  with 
the  Spirit.  Referring  to  this  work  of  "love," 
Tholuck  says:  "It  can  only  be  done  when  the 
Spirit  of  fire  from  God  is  there  as  the  bearer  of 
the  breath  of  God.  Above  all  else,  that  for 
which,  in  reviewing  the  past,  I  thank  the  Lord  in 
prayerful  wonder,  is  the  Spirit  of  fire  out  of 
God's  own  heart  which  has  been  given  me  from 
the  time  when  I  first  received  the  baptism  of 
fire."  He  retained  the  great  gift.  So  did  Dr. 
Milne.  He  was  at  first  only  an  ordinary  Chris- 
tian (alas !  how  many  such !),  but  during  a  season 


spirit-filled  Impulse  95 

of  deep  religious  interest  he  received  a  baptism 
from  above,  which  he  kept,  and  that  gave  him 
the  higher  inspiration  and  greater  power  of  the 
succeeding  years.  This  was  the  secret  of  that 
burning  zeal  which  never  burned  out.  O !  let 
the  Church  of  to-day  carry  her  fruitlessness  and 
ardorless  life  to  Him  who  came  to  ''seek  and 
save  that  which  was  lost,"  and  cry  for  that  in- 
dwelling, continuing  love  ''which  seeks  and 
follows !" 


VII 

Key-word:  Affection 
John 
Philip 
Bartholomew 

97 


The  affections  are  the  highest  faculties.     They  have 
the  nearest  view  of  truth,  and  the  strongest  hold  upon  it. 

—A.  Peabody,  D.  D.  \ 

i 

There  is  no  service  like  his  that  serves  because  he  \ 

loves.  — Sir  Philip  Sidney.  \ 


Mtction 

Affection  is  the  key-word  of  this  group. 
The  apostle  John  is  the  representative. 

I.  John  was  the  man  of  intuition;  fervid,  yet 
contemplative;  modest,  loving,  trustful.  His 
peculiarity  has  been  described  by  calling  him  a 
mystic:  he  does  not  deal  much  with  the  outside 
of  things,  but  lays  hold  of  everything  from 
within.  ''His  thinking  is  intuitive:  he  does  not 
reason  like  St.  Paul,  nor  exhort  like  St.  Peter, 
but  concentrates  his  vision  on  the  object  which 
opens  to  his  steady  gaze."  Not  the  intellect,  but 
the  feelings  characterize  him.  He  is  an  animated 
witness  rather  than  a  doctrinal  giant.  We  do 
not  read  that  John  had  any  peculiar  "aptitude 
for  business"  and  the  "conduct  of  affairs."  It 
was  for  the  qualities  of  the  heart,  rather  than  the 
head,  that  John  was  distinguished.  He  was  nat- 
urally of  a  warm,  fervid  temperament.  But  it  is 
a  mistake  to  dwell  upon  his  gentleness  alone,  and 
magnify  it  into  his  leading  characteristic.  The 
apostle  John  was  called  by  our  Lord  a  "Son  of 
Thunder,"  as  well  as  his  brother  James ;  nor  have 
we  any  reason  for  supposing  the  name  less  appli- 
cable to  him. 

John  is  called  the  "Apostle  of  Love ;"  and  his 
99 


lOO  Individuality 


very  faults  show  his  love  to  Christ.  On  more 
than  one  occasion  we  have  evidence  of  this.  The 
first  was  during  our  Savior's  last  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem. He  must  needs  go  through  a  certain 
Samaritan  village.  He  sent  on  messengers  in 
advance  to  announce  his  coming,  and  perhaps 
also  to  make  some  provision  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  himself  and  his  company.  But  they 
were  met  by  an  outburst  of  fanatical  feeling ;  the 
villagers  refused  to  open  their  doors,  in  hospi- 
tality to  one  whose  "face  was  as  though  he  would 
go  to  Jerusalem."  James  and  John,  fresh  from 
the  Transfiguration  scene,  and  knowing  that 
he  was  certainly  the  Son  of  God,  were  indignant 
at  the  rejection  of  his  claims,  and  in  the  impetu- 
osity of  their  hearts  they  ask  the  Master,  "Wilt 
thou  that  we  command  fire  to  come  down  from 
heaven  and  consume  them,  even  as  Elias  did?" 
Jesus  turns  and  rebukes  them  sternly.  He  tells 
them,  "Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye 
are  of.  The  Son  of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy 
men's  lives,  but  to  save  them."  His  whole  work 
was  one  of  salvation.  His  miracles  were  those 
of  healing.  His  teaching  was  for  the  saving  of 
the  soul. 

It  is  strange  to  think  that  John  was  ever  a 
prey  to  such  a  spirit  as  is  here  ascribed  to  him 
and  his  brother — he  whose  very  name  is  now  a 
synonym  for  love.      But  his  very  hatred  only 


Affection  loi 


proved  the  more  intensely  his  love.  He  loved 
Jesus  as  intensely  as  he  hated  the  Samaritans; 
it  v^as  his  devoted  attachment  to  his  Master 
that  made  him  resent  their  incivility  so  keenly. 
He  could  not  abide  any  one  who  would  be  so 
inhospitable  to  his  nearest  Friend.  As  Professor 
Bruce,  in  his  "Training  of  the  Twelve,"  puts  it : 
"In  his  tender  love  for  the  Bridegroom  of  his 
soul,  he  was  beautiful  as  a  mother  overflowing 
with  affection  in  the  bosom  of  her  family; 
though  in  his  hatred  he  was  terrible  as  the  same 
mother  can  be  in  her  enmity  against  her  family's 
foes.  John's  nature,  in  fact,  was  feminine,  both 
in  its  virtues  and  in  its  faults,  and,  like  all  femi- 
nine natures,  could  be  both  exquisitely  sweet  and 
exquisitely  bitter."  He  fell  through  the  pecul- 
iarity of  his  temperament.  He  is  yet  very  far 
from  that  charity  which  can  pardon  all  things, 
even  insult  offered  to  the  Master;  but  inter- 
course with  Jesus  will  yet  teach  him  to  hate  his 
brother  man  no  more. 

The  next  incident  that  brings  John's  faults 
before  us  preceded  by  a  short  time  the  solemn 
entry  into  Jerusalem.  It  was  when  he,  with  his 
brother  and  his  mother,  came  to  Jesus  to  prefer 
their  ambitious  request.  According  to  Matthew, 
the  request  is  made  by  the  mother ;  according  to 
Mark,  by  the  two  sons.  But  if  James  and  John 
did  not  verbally  make  the  request,  they  spoke 


T02  Individuality 


through  the  mouth  of  their  mother;  the  design 
was  more  theirs  than  hers.  They  said  unto 
Jesus,  ''Grant  unto  us  that  we  may  sit,  one  on 
thy  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  thy  left  hand, 
in  thy  glory."  They  now  perceive  that  he  is 
going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  that  the  final  crisis 
is  approaching.  They  understand  that  some- 
how, through  some  terrible  ordeal,  he  is  to  at- 
tain to  the  glorified  kingdom  which  the  Trans- 
figuration exhibited.  Now,  then,  is  the  proper 
time  to  secure  their  elevated  position  in  that  new 
coming  kingdom  of  glory.  xA.nd  who  should 
more  properly  aspire  to  that  position  than  those 
two  disciples,  who  had  on  so  many  occasions 
been  distinguished  by  the  Savior's  particular 
preferences?  But  the  request  was  as  ignorant 
as  it  was  presumptuous.  "Ye  know  not  what 
ye  ask,"  said  the  Master;  and  then  he  went  on 
to  call  their  thoughts  away  from  speculations  of 
future  reward  to  practical  considerations  of  duty. 
Thus  we  see  again  that  John's  fault  lies  very  near 
his  affection  for  his  Master  and  his  coming  king- 
dom. Some  have  even  discerned  good  elements 
in  the  ambition  of  James  and  John.  ''It  sprang," 
they  think,  "from  their  desire  to  be  near  Christ ; 
it  showed  at  least  their  faith  in  his  royal  dignity 
and  claims." 

The  whole  sum  of  John's  character  is  con- 
tained in  the  single  fact,  that  he  was  "the  disciple 


Affection  103 


whom  Jesus  loved."  All  the  disciples,  with  the 
exception  of  Judas,  loved  the  Lord,  just  as  he 
loved  them  all ;  but  as  he  bore  to  John  a  peculiar 
love,  so  the  love  of  this  apostle  for  him  was 
peculiarly  deep  and  faithful.  It  unconsciously 
breaks  forth  in  many  ways.  He  lay  on  the 
bosom  of  Jesus  at  the  Last  Supper,  and  was  rec- 
ognized by  Peter  then  as  being  innermost  in  the 
confidence  of  Christ.  When,  troubled  in  heart, 
Jesus  said,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you  that 
one  of  you  shall  betray  me,"  they  all  began  to 
ask  in  turn,  ''Lord,  is  it  I?"  At  length,  how- 
ever, Peter  signified  by  a  gesture  to  John  to  ask 
the  Master  who  was  to  betray  him.  This  was  a 
significant  act.  Dr.  Stalker  says:  'It  was  the 
acknowledgment  of  vSt.  Peter  of  St.  John's 
primacy  in  the  love  and  confidence  of  Christ. 
It  was  a  tribute  from  the  man  of  action  to  the 
man  of  contemplation." 

John's  love  made  him  follow  his  Master  to  the 
judgment-hall.  He  alone  of  the  Twelve  was  per- 
mitted to  witness  his  trial.  In  all  the  pictures  he 
is  seen  attending  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem 
who  met  the  mournful  procession  on  its  way  to 
Calvary.  They  follow  the  cavalcade,  and  endure 
the  heart-rending  sight  of  the  crucifixion. 
"There  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother 
and  his  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleo- 
phas,  and   Mary  Magdalene;"  and  with  these 


I04  Individuality 


holy  women  stood  John.  This  may  be  ascribed 
in  part  to  the  greatness  of  his  courage,  and  in 
part  to  the  strength  of  his  affection.  ''When 
Jesus  therefore  saw  his  mother  and  the  disciple 
standing  by,  whom  he  loved,  he  saith  unto  his 
mother,  Woman,  behold  thy  son!  Then  saith 
he  to  the  disciple,  Behold  thy  mother!"  Jesus 
knew  that  in  John  she  would  find  a  spirit  whose 
ardent  love  to  himself  gave  best  pledge  that  he 
would  religiously  care  for  the  widowed  mother. 
"And  from  that  hour,"  we  read,  "that  disciple 
took  her  to  his  own  home." 

John  hastens  with  Peter  to  the  sepulcher  on 
the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  John  outruns 
Peter,  and,  stooping  down,  looks  in ;  Peter,  more 
bold,  enters  first ;  then  John  follows.  As  has 
been  beautifully  said :  "It  was  because  John  was 
the  disciple  of  love  that  he  arrived  first  at  the 
sepulcher;  for  love  lends  wings,  and  its  tension 
gave  John  the  advantage." 

It  was  John,  the  man  of  affection  and  in- 
sight, who  was  first  to  recognize  his  Beloved  on 
the  shores  of  Tiberias,  in  the  gray  twilight  of  the 
dawning  day.  "It  is  the  Lord !"  whispered  John 
to  Peter.  The  heart,  rather  than  the  intellect, 
is  the  organ  of  spiritual  apprehension.  John  had 
been  the  first  to  perceive  that  Christ  had  risen ; 
now  he  is  the  first  to  recognize  his  person. 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  the  apostle  John 


Affection  105 


clearly  represents  the  key-thought  of  this  group, 
namely,  affection.  Canon  Farrar  has  well  said : 
^'The  'touch  of  phantasy  and  flame'  in  his  imagi- 
nation; the  rare  combination  of  contemplative- 
ness  and  passion,  of  strength  and  sweetness,  in 
the  same  soul;  the  perfect  faith  which  inspired 
his  devotion,  and  the  perfect  love  which  pre- 
cluded fear, — these  were  the  gifts  and  graces 
which  rendered  him  worthy  of  leaning  his  young 
head  on  the  bosom  of  his  Lord." 

2.  Philip  is  the  second  apostle  named  in  this 
group.  Jesus  "findeth  Philip."  One  word — the 
one  pregnant  invitation,  "Fo/Zotc  met" — was  suffi- 
cient to  attach  to  Jesus  forever  the  gentle  and 
simple-minded  apostle.  And  gratitude  to  the 
Redeemer  impels  him  to  a  proclamation  of  re- 
demption. Phihp  felt  the  communicative  and 
diffusive  nature  of  religion.  Faith  includes 
works;  loyalty  involves  service;  love  carries  de- 
votedness.  "Philip  findeth  Nathanael."  Philip 
thought,  as  he  talked  with  Jesus,  ''O,  how  com- 
pletely he  answers  to  the  Prophet  of  whom 
Moses  wrote ;  how  he  fulfills  the  promises  of  the 
prophets;  how  he  realizes  the  expectations  of 
pious  Jews !  Who  among  all  my  acquaintances 
would  best  appreciate  him?"  And  at  once  he 
thought  of  Nathanael,  the  guileless  Jew.  Philip 
v/ent  in  the  fullness  of  his  heart,  expecting  Na- 
thanael would  be  as  glad  to  hear  as  he  was  to 


io6  Individitality 


tell.  And  when  at  first  Nathanael  received  the 
message  with  caution,  Philip  did  not  stop  to 
argue  with  him,  but  said,  ''Come  and  see" — 
convinced  in  his  simple,  faithful  heart  that  to  see 
Jesus  was  to  know  him,  and  to  know  was  to  love, 
and  to  love  was  to  adore.  What  a  model  is  this 
for  general  imitation !  Experimental  knowledge 
— not  disputations  about  dogmas  of  religion — 
this  alone  will  dispel  prejudice. 

All  the  particulars  which  have  reached  us  of 
Philip's  life  are  communicated  by  the  evangelist 
John.  He  appears  for  the  first  time,  after  his 
call,  in  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand.  His 
affection  shows  itself.  He  manifested  sympathy. 
This  was  greater  than  that  of  those  who  said, 
"Send  them  away."  God  seldom  uses  a  man 
who  has  a  hard  or  cold  heart.  A  man  must  love 
people,  or  he  can  not  save  them. 

Another  incident  is  brought  before  us  that  is 
significant:  "And  there  came  certain  Greeks 
.  .  .  the  same  came  therefore  to  Philip  .  .  . 
saying.  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus."  (John  xii, 
20-22.)  Among  the  pilgrims  who  had  come  to 
keep  the  Passover  at  Jerusalem  were  these  Greek 
proselytes,  who  had  heard  of  Jesus  and  desired 
to  see  him.  The  Greek  name  of  Philip,  or  the 
fact  that  he  was  of  Bethsaida,  may  serve  to  ex- 
plain why  they  applied  to  him.  Their  desire  was 
no  more  than  this:  "Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus;" 


Affection  107 


and  it  was  one  with  which  Philip  could  not  fail 
to  sympathize;  for  had  he  not  himself  invited 
Nathanael  and  many  another  to  ''come  and  see" 
the  Lord?  The  zealous  love  which  he  had 
shown  in  the  case  of  Nathanael  may  have  made 
him  prompt  to  offer  himself  as  their  guide.  But 
mark  the  cautious  character  of  Philip:  "Philip 
Cometh  and  telleth  Andrew;  and  again  Andrew 
and  Philip  tell  Jesus." 

There  is  a  connection  not  difficult  to  be 
traced  between  this  fact  and  that  which  follows 
on  the  last  recurrence  of  Philip's  name  in  the 
history  of  the  Gospels.  The  desire  to  see  Jesus 
gave  occasion  to  the  desire  of  Philip,  "Lord, 
show^  us  the  Father."  During  the  conversation 
at  the  Last  Supper,  Jesus  had  spoken  more  dis- 
tinctly than  ever  of  the  presence  of  his  Father 
with  him.  The  words  appear  to  have  sunk  deep 
in  Philip's  heart,  and  he  brooded  over  them.  As 
a  man  he  was  conscious  of  the  deep  need  which 
all  have  for  something  more  than  "an  unseeable 
and  unknowable  God."  The  peculiarities  of 
Philip's  temperament  strengthened  the  desire. 
To  all  Nathanael's  objections  he  had  only  the 
reply,  "Come  and  see."  And  here  he  says,  "O ! 
if  we  could  see  the  Father  it  would  be  enough." 
"His  petition,"  says  Dr.  A.  Maclaren,  "is  child- 
like in  its  simplicity,  beautiful  in  its  trust,  noble 
and  true  in  its  estimate  of  what  men  need."    He 


io8  Individtiality 


meant  a  palpable  manifestation,  and  so  far  he 
was  wrong.  Give  the  word  its  highest  and  its 
truest  meaning,  and  Philip's  error  becomes 
grand  truth.  Jesus  replied:  ''Have  I  been  so 
long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
me,  Philip?  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou,  then,  Show  us  the 
Fathier?"  Philip  represents  all  men  in  their 
deepest  spiritual  experiences.  ''Show  us  the 
Father."  It  is  not  skepticism  seeking  for  a 
Deity — "an  insensate  principle."  It  is  not  half- 
convinced  doubt  "feeling  along  the  links  of  cre- 
ation after  a  first  cause."  It  is  not  "amiable 
optimism  out  in  immeasurable  extension  of  be- 
neficent actuality,"  asking  for  a  Creator.  It  is 
awakened  faith  seeking  its  Author;  a  hungry 
soul  searching  a  satisfying  love.  And  Christ 
teaches  Philip  that  believing,  in  the  sense  of 
trusting,  is  seeing  and  knowing.  Philip  said, 
"Show."  Christ  answers,  "Believe !  and  thou 
dost  see."  The  world  says,  "Seeing  is  believ- 
ing." The  gospel  says,  "Believing  is  seeing." 
The  true  way  to  knowledge,  and  to  a  better 
vision  than  the  uncertain  vision  of  the  eye,  is 
faith. 

3.  Bartholomew,  or  Nathanael.  This  is  the 
third  apostle  of  this  group.  Nathanael  and  Bar- 
tholomew (son  of  Tholmai)  were  names  of  the 
same  person,  the  former  being  a  proper  namg, 


Affection  109 


and  the  latter  a  surname.  Nathanael  itself  is  a 
fine  name;  like  so  many  of  the  Hebrew  names, 
it  spoke  of  God.  The  afifix,  El — the  hallowing, 
consecrating  name  of  God ;  Nathana-e/ — the  gift 
of  God — for  such  is  the  purport  of  the  name,  the 
same  as  our  Theodore  and  Dorothea. 

Before  he  came  to  Christ,  Nathanael  was  a 
godly  man  up  to  the  measure  of  his  light — a 
man  of  secret  prayer;  childlike,  simple-hearted, 
transparent,  neither  credulous  nor  mistrustful, 
but  honestly  ready  to  receive  testimony  and  to 
be  swayed  by  the  force  of  truth.  No  doubt  he 
was  waiting  for  the  consolation  of  Israel.  When 
Philip  came  to  him  with  the  glad  Eureka — "We 
have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and 
the  prophets  did  write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
son  of  Joseph" — Nathanael's  prejudice  against 
Nazareth  asserted  itself.  He  asks,  ''Can  any 
good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?"  But  when 
Philip  said,  "Come  and  see,"  all  hesitation  passed 
away.  Nathanael  dropped  his  prejudice,  and 
acted  as  a  man  of  candor ;  he  came  to  Christ  with 
great  activity  of  heart.  No  sooner  did  Jesus  see 
Nathanael  than  he  exclaimed,  "Behold,  an  Is- 
raelite indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile!"  Christ's 
words  of  praise  here  are  the  highest  he  ever 
spoke,  and  were  spoken  to  one  upon  his  first 
interview,  spoken  before  he  became  a  disciple, 
even   when   Nathanael's   mind   was   prejudiced 


no  Individuality 


against  Christ  as  a  Nazarene.  There  must  have 
been  something  in  his  character  specially  con- 
genial to  Jesus,  to  account  for  such  strong  lan- 
guage. No  doubt  the  Master's  approval  was 
won  by  the  frankness  of  the  Israelite's  nature — 
innocent  of  disguise,  and  retaining  in  manhood 
a  childilke  simplicity  of  thought. 

"Whence  knowest  thou  me?"  Nathanael 
asks.  "Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him.  Be- 
fore that  Philip  called  thee,  when  thou  wast 
under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee."  These  simple 
words,  which  contair^d,  doubtless,  an  allusion 
to  the  most  saci'ed  secret  of  his  soul,  brought 
Nath;;i-.lael  to  the  feet  of  Jesus.  He  forgot  the 
hunrule  origin  of" the  Messiah,  which  had  for  an 
instant  staggered  him ;  the  poor  h^^TTiet  of  Naza- 
reth vanished'  from,  his  eyes  before  the  glorious 
vision  oi- heaven  oj^^r^\-,i  ^y  the  Son  of  m-axi. 
Nathanael  a^xclar  ,i  thou  art  the  Son  of 

God ;  thou  art  'srael."    Human  lips 

have   given   Jesus  r^  •ref^'-   ^^<i   wonderful 

titles    in   this    chapl  john    called    him    the 

"Lamb  of  God."  The  first  disciples  hailed  him 
as  the  "Messias,  which  is  the  Christ."  But  Na- 
thanael fell  before  him  with  the  rapturous  ex- 
clamation, "Thou  art  the  Son  of  God;  thou  art 
the  King  of  Israel."  Then  follows  the  answer  of 
the  Lord  to  Nathanael's  testimony:  "Because  I 
said  unto  thee,  I  saw  thee  under  the  fig-tree,  be- 


Affection  1 1 1 


lievest  thou?"  Here  is  the  first  time  that  that 
word,  ''belief,"  came  from  Christ's  lips.  It  was 
an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world  when  Christ 
first  claimed  and  accepted  a  man's  faith.  And 
then,  notice  how  widely  different  from  our  creed 
Nathanael's  creed  was,  and  yet  how  identical 
with  our  faith,  if  we  are  Christians,  Nathanael's 
faith  was.  Some  writer  has  said:  ''He  knew 
nothing  about  the  very  heart  of  Christ's  work, 
his  atoning  death;  he  knew  nothing  about  the 
highest  glory  of  Christ's  character,  his  Divine 
Sonship,in  a  unique  and  lof<v  sense.  These  all  lay 
unrevealed,  and  were  amongst  the  greater  things 
which  he  was  yet  to  see ;  but  though  thi  s  his 
knowledge  was  imperfect,  and  his  creed  incom- 
plete as  compared  with  ours,  his  faith  was  the 
very  same.  He  laid  hold  up^n  Christ,  he  clave 
to  him  with  all  his  heai;*  •  -^^.  /as. ready  td  accept 
his  teaching,  he  was  \('  T^okliiA.  will ;  and 

as  for  the  rest,  'ffhor  jr<^ter  things 

than  these,'  said  Jes^,  <j^ftei^  ye  shall  see 

heaven  open,  and  the**^^  «^  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  man.'  " 

We  scarcely  hear  of  Nathanael  again.  He 
was  characterized  by  purity  of  purpose,  candor 
of  judgment,  sincerity,  frankness,  and  courage. 
The  Savior's  beatitude  on  the  pure  in  heart  is 
perhaps  the  best  comment  upon  the  life  of  this 
apostle.    So  swift  was  he  to  believe  that  the  only 


112  Individuality 


thing  that  Christ  is  recorded  as  having  said  to 
him  is,  "Because  I  said  .  .  .  thou  believest? 
Thou  shalt  see  greater  things  than  these."  Na- 
thanael  stands  to  us  as  the  type  of  that  quiet, 
continuous  growth,  which  is  marked  by  faithful 
use  of  present  illumination,  and  is  rewarded  by  a 
continual  increase  of  the  same.  "If  the  keynote 
of  the  lives  of  Peter  and  Thomas,"  says  Dr.  Mac- 
laren,  "is  that  sin  confessed  helps  a  man  to  climb, 
the  keynote  to  this  man's  is  that  they  are  still 
more  blessed  who,  with  no  interruptions  or  de- 
nials, by  patient  continuousness  in  well-doing, 
widen  the  horizon  of  their  Christian  vision,  and 
purge  their  eyesight  for  daily  larger  knowledge. 
There  is  no  necessity  that  any  man's  career 
should  be  broken  by  denials  and  doubts ;  we  may 
'grow  in  grace  and  m  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
and  Savior.'  " 

Thus  we  see  all  the  apostles  of  this  group  are 
of  the  intuitive  type.  They  do  not  theorize; 
they  feel  out  their  religion ;  they  believe  easily. 
They  do  not  argue;  they  take  no  interest  in 
weighing  evidence;  they  know  truth  by  feeling 
it.  Truth  enters  their  hearts,  not  through  the 
head,  but  direct,  as  by  intuition.  Of  such  our 
Savior  said,  "Blessed  are  they  who  have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed ;"  that  is,  blessed  are 
those  who  feel  their  religion,  and  know  it  be- 
cause they  feel  it. 


VIII 


Cije  f  ntutti^je  C^pe  of 
Cf)risttanit^ 


113 


For  one  to  be  a  Christian,  it  is  necessary  that  he  be 
loyal ;  but  to  be  a  Christian  of  the  first  order,  he  must  be 
mystical.  —John  Watsoiiy  D.  D. 

114 


Ci^e  3!ntuit(i)e  C^pe  of  Cl^risitianrtY 

The  affections  are  our  highest  faculties. 
They  have  the  nearest  view  of  truth,  and  the 
strongest  hold  upon  it.  Religion  is  the  life  of 
the  affections;  and  "in  the  reverence  now  paid 
to  intellect,"  Dr.  Peabody  says,  "there  is  danger 
that  religion  be  undervalued,  and  that  the  affec- 
tions, which  are  its  throne,  receive  much  less 
than  their  due  regard  and  cultivation."  What- 
ever extremes  Stoics  or  enthusisasts  have  run 
into,  it  is  evident  that  the  exercise  of  the  affec- 
tions is  essential  to  the  existence  of  true  religion. 
It  is  true,  indeed,  "that  all  affectionate  devotion 
is  not  wise  and  rational;  but  it  is  no  less  true 
that  all  wise  and  rational  devotion  must  be  affec- 
tionate." The  religion  of  the  most  eminent 
saints  has  always  consisted  in  the  exercise  of 
holy  affections. 

The  heart  stands,  in  the  Bible,  for  feeling — 
particularly  for  affections  and  moral  emotions. 
We  need  to  emphasize  the  sanctity  of  feeling. 
Materialistic  thought  would  ridicule  it,  and  we 
need  to  resist  that  cold  philosophy  which  dis- 
courages all  emotion.  The  man  who  lacks  emo- 
tion, lacks  expression.  That  which  is  in  him 
remains  within  him,  and  he  can  not  utter  it  or 
115 


Ii6  Individuality 


make  it  influential.  Feeling  is  a  spiritual  matter. 
The  only  way  we  have  of  knowing  anything  is 
through  feeling.  As  has  been  said,  "We  know 
the  world  by  touching  it."  We  need  to  cherish 
a  holy  warmth.  It  may  not  be  piety,  but  he  who 
enjoys  Christ  within  him  has  warm  affections. 
I.  The  final  test  of  religion  is  Love.  John 
Watson  (Ian  Maclaren),  in  his  charming  little 
book  entitled,  "The  Upper  Room,"  makes  Love 
the  upper  room  of  the  soul.  "When  any  one  re- 
ceives Jesus  as  a  guest,"  says  he,  "he  ought  to 
give  him  the  Upper  Room.  For  it  happens  that 
there  are  fashions  in  this  matter  of  spiritual  hos- 
pitality; and  though  they  be  all  well  intended, 
they  are  not  all  equally  successful.  Some  receive 
Jesus  in  the  public  room,  where  the  work  of  life 
is  done,  and  he  will  not  despise  their  laborious 
service — the  anxious  Marthas  of  the  Christian 
devotion.  But  she  could  have  done  better  for 
Jesus.  Some  pay  him  court  in  that  austere  room 
where  the  accounts  of  life  are  kept  and  audited, 
and  Jesus  has  not  come  to  belittle  their  obedi- 
ence, who  are  of  St.  James's  righteous  kind. 
But  there  is  something  higher  than  law.  Some 
delight  to  see  their  Master  in  the  room  that  is 
lined  with  books  of  ancient  learning,  and  Jesus 
hath  a  tender  regard  for  the  St.  Pauls  that  must 
know  the  mysteries  of  his  person.  Yet  is  there 
something  far  above  theology.     For  some  have 


Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity  117 

not  been  content  to  hold  Jesus  anywhere,  save 
in  the  room  which  is  nearest  to  the  sky,  which 
has  windows  to  the  gray  east  and  the  golden 
west,  and  all  day  long  is  full  of  warm  light ;  and 
when  Jesus,  wearied  after  many  fruitless  jour- 
neys, is  brought  within  the  door,  he  is  satisfied, 
as  one  who  has  come  home.  This  is  sometimes 
called  St.  John's  room,  because  he  wrote  pleas- 
antly about  it  and  the  things  he  had  seen  from 
its  windows;  and  no  one  will  gainsay  that  it  is 
the  Upper  Room.  For  work  is  good,  and  right- 
eousness is  good,  and  knowledge  is  good;  but 
best  of  all  is  love.  And  all  the  other  rooms  in 
the  soul  are  gathered  under  Love.  Be  sure  he 
wall  not  fail  in  sacrifice  who  loves  the  Lord ;  his 
conscience  will  be  tender  that  is  bathed  in  love, 
and  no  one  can  know  deep  mysteries  who  does 
not  love.  Love  is  Jesus'  chosen  guest-chamber, 
and  he  that  has  Jesus  for  a  guest  has  power,  and 
goodness,  and  truth,  and  God." 

2.  John  places  special  emphasis  upon  the  in- 
tuition  of  love — that  inward  experience  which  is 
its  own  evidence.  He  is,  in  the  highest  sense,  a 
mystic,  a  realist.  John  knew  Christ;  he  intui- 
tively felt  Christ.  He  does  not  dwell  upon  his- 
tory, or  philosophy,  or  law.  That  might  help 
others;  that  was  necessary  to  others,  no  doubt. 
But  John  had  seen  Christ;  he  needed  no  other 
testimony.    He  had  beheld  him.    There  are  di§- 


Ii8  Individuality 


ciples  who  see  the  presence  of  Jesus  by  the  in- 
tuition of  love.  And  such  was  John.  He  saw 
without  beholding.  He  knew,  not  so  much  by 
faith  as  by  the  love  that  beheveth  all  things  and 
never  faileth.  He  had  no  labored  process  to  go 
through;  he  had  no  constructive  proof  to  de- 
velop; his  source  of  knowledge  was  direct,  and 
his  mode  of  bringing  conviction  was  to  affirm. 

The  Fourth  Gospel  is  throughout  pervaded 
by  the  idea  of  human  testimony  to  Christ, — from 
the  Baptist,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God!"  from 
Nathanael,  "Thou  art  the  Son  of  God;"  from 
the  Samaritan  woman,  "Is  not  this  the  Christ?" 
from  Peter,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
living  God;"  from  the  people,  "When  Christ 
Cometh  will  he  do  more  miracles  than  those 
which  this  man  hath  done?"  from  the  officers, 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man ;"  from  Martha, 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God;"  from 
Pilate,  "I  find  no  fault  in  him;"  from  Thomas, 
"My  Lord  and  my  God."  "Wonderful  music!" 
says  Bishop  Alexander,  "drawn  from  the  heart 
of  man  by  the  hand  of  faith,  running  up  the 
scales  from  its  faintest  and  lowest  note,  ^Thou 
art  the  King  of  Israel,'  to  its  grandest  and  richest 
harmony,  'My  Lord  and  my  God.'  " 

John  was  exceedingly  vivid  in  his  beliefs. 
Read  his  First  Epistle,  and  study  his  persistent 
use  of  that  verb,  "know:"  "And  hereby  we  do 


Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity  119 

know  that  we  know  him,  if  we  keep  his  com- 
mandments," "ye  know  the  truth,"  "ye  know 
that  he  is  righteous,"  "we  know  that  we  shall  be 
like  him,"  "we  know  that  we  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life,"  "we  know  that  we  are  of  God," 
"ye  know  him  that  is  from  the  beginning,"  "we 
know  that  the  Son  of  God  has  given  us  an  under- 
standing, that  we  should  know  him  that  is  true." 
At  Ephesus,  where  he  was  living  on  in  beautiful 
old  age,  the  last  survivor  of  those  on  whom  the 
risen  One  had  breathed,  men  were  asking 
eagerly,  importunately,  "Can  we  know  the  spir- 
itual world?  Can  we  know  God?"  and  were  re- 
ceiving confident  answers,  "Yes,  by  this  or  that 
form  of  spiritual  philosophy."  St.  John  had  his 
answer  ready :  "Yes,  but  on  Christian  conditions ; 
by  confessing  the  Son,  by  believing  the  record 
that  the  Father  hath  given  of  the  Son,  by  receiv- 
ing the  gift  of  eternal  life  as  from  the  Father 
through  the  Son, — by  union,  in  a  word,  with 
Jesus  the  Christ."  They  are  to  gain  a  deep  con- 
viction which,  employing  a  favorite  phrase,  he 
calls  a  "witness,"  or  evidence,  implanted  in  their 
own  interior  being,  and  approving  itself  to  them 
as  being  from  God.  It  will  enable  them  to  say, 
not  merely  "I  think,"  "I  am  strongly  of  opin- 
ion," but  "I  know."  Faith,  with  St.  John,  is  of 
the  heart  as  well  as  of  the  head;  it  works 
through  love;  it  "overcomes  the  world;"  it  is  a 


1 2  o  Individuality 


principle  of  sanctifying  energy  destined  to  build 
up  Christian  character,  to  foster  and  develop  the 
seeds  of  eternal  life.  There  are  no  ''ifs"  about 
him.  The  knowledge  about  which  John  writes 
is  a  personal  knowledge.  It  presupposes  intel- 
lectual knowledge,  but  is  something  else.  It  is 
the  knowledge  of  which  we  speak  when  we  say 
of  a  man,  ''I  know  him."  What  do  we  mean 
>  when  we  say  that?  Do  we  not  mean,  I  have 
seen  him,  conversed  with  him,  interchanged 
thoughts  with  him,  spent  time  with  him,  done 
things  with  him,  have  been  admitted  into  his 
confidence,  written  to  him,  and  heard  from  him? 
These  things  and  such  as  these  are  what  make 
up  personal  knowledge  between  man  and  man. 
Even  thus  it  is  with  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 
There  are  many  hearts  that  turn  toward  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  an  enthusisasm  of  love, 
with  a  clasping  affection,  with  a  yearning  desire, 
that  carries  with  it  everything  which  their  heart 
has  to  give;  and  if  you  say  to  them,  ''Do  you 
think  he  is  Divine?"  they  answer,  ''We  knozv  it.'' 
There  are  souls  who,  like  John,  are  the  first  to 
detect  the  presence  of  Jesus,  and  to  say,  "It  is 
the  Lord!"  They  feel,  while  others  are  asking 
for  evidence.  John  seems  to  be  fixed  in  the  en- 
tranced bliss  of  a  perpetual  intuition.  Not  dia- 
lectics, but  intuition — not  intellect,  but  the  feel- 
ings— seem  to  characterize  him. 


Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity  121 

The  men  of  this  group  testify.  The  Lord 
wants  testimony,  and  hence  witnesses.  What  is 
a  witness?  The  Saxon  word,  "witan,"  from 
which  the  word  ''witness"  comes,  means  to 
know.  A  witness  is  one  who  knows,  and  who  is 
summoned  to  tell  what  he  knows.  There  is 
great  need  of  such  evidence.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence so  valuable  as  the  experimental.  The 
Christian  religion  is  not  a  system  of  laws. 
It  is  a  state  of  the  heart.  The  Christian 
religion  is  not  a  philosophy  of  truth  as  it 
relates  to  man's  nature  and  duty.  It  is  a 
soul-life.  Christ  in  a  man — that  is  the  Christian 
religion.  And  the  final  and  decisive  evidence 
of  Christianity  is  the  evidence  of  experience. 
Its  victories  have  all  been  along  this  line.  Not 
the  labors  of  its  learned  ''apologists,"  but  its 
testimonies  of  experience.  Truly  has  it  been 
said:  "The  disciples  of  Celsus  were  not  van- 
quished by  the  treatises  of  Origen,  but  by  the 
witness  of  obscure  slaves  and  artisans.  The  tide 
of  infidelity  in  the  last  century  was  not  stemmed 
by  Butler's  'Analogy,'  but  by  the  testimony  of 
Kingswood  colliers  and  Lincolnshire  laborers. 
The  good  fight  of  faith  to-day  is  not  won  by 
academic  men  in  secluded  cloisters,  but  by  'un- 
learned and  ignorant'  successors  of  the  men  who 
could  not  but  speak  the  things  they  had  seen 
and  heard,"     And  skeptics  marvel.     They  need 


122  Individuality 


not,  for  it  is  an  open  secret,  "We  have  been  with 
Jesus."  The  overwhehiiing  power  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  Hes  in  individual  hearts  that  declare, 
''One  thing  I  know :  whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I 
see."  When  Paul  was  carried  before  governors 
and  kings  to  defend  himself,  he  always  had  re- 
course to  the  method  of  experience.  Before 
Agrippa  he  begins  his  defense  by  saying,  ''At 
midday,  O  king,  I  saw  in  the  way  a  light  from 
heaven,  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  shining 
round  about  me  and  them  which  journeyed  with 
me."  And  he  went  on  to  tell  with  profound  sim- 
plicity his  religious  experience. 

A  Roman  Catholic  priest,  a  Protestant  min- 
ister, a  farmer,  and  an  atheist  were  in  a  railway 
carriage  together.  The  atheist  commenced  the 
conversation  by  asking  the  priest  this  question, 
"What,  in  your  opinion,  is  sufficient  proof  of  the 
truth  of  Christianity  which  you  profess  to  be- 
lieve and  teach?"  The  priest  began  to  talk  of 
Councils,  of  the  traditions  of  the  Church,  and 
so  on;  but  the  atheist  had  been  all  over  that 
ground  before,  and  soon  replied  to  the  argu- 
ments advanced.  He  then  turned  to  the  Prot- 
estant minister,  and  asked  the  same  question. 
The  minister  talked  of  external  evidences,  of  in- 
ternal evidences,  of  collateral  evidences,  and  so 
forth ;  but  the  infidel  had  also  considered  all  these 
arguments,  and  had  his  answer  ready.    The  min- 


Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity  123 

ister  then  referred  the  atheist  to  the  old  farmer, 
whom  he  happened  to  know.  The  farmer's  in- 
dignation had  been  welling  up  for  a  consider- 
able time  at  hearing  his  Lord  and  Master  reviled, 
and  when  the  atheist  said,  with  a  contemptuous 
air,  ''Well,  my  man,  what,  in  your  opinion,  is 
sufficient  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  Christianity 
you  profess  to  believe?"  The  farmer  answered 
earnestly,  ''Sir,  I  feel  it !"  The  atheist  was  sur- 
prised at  the  reply,  and  said,  "Gentlemen,  I  can't 
answer  that !" 

Joseph  Parker  says:  "Many  of  us  were  not 
intended  to  be  controversialists,  soldiers,  fight- 
ers in  the  open  field ;  we  are  not  all  called  upon 
to  vindicate  everything  that  is  literal  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. .  .  .  Nor  are  we  to  be  driven  back 
by  the  men  who  say,  Explain  these  things.  We 
can  not  explain  everything.  We  can  not  ex- 
plain 'love;'  we  can  talk  about  it,  give  hints  of 
it,  give  representations  of  it,  point  to  it  in  vari- 
ous passing  forms  and  features,  but  explain  it 
we  never  can ;  but  we  can  feel  it." 

3.  There  is  need  of  a  sympathetic  religion. 
It  was  no  accident  that  Jesus,  as  he  hung  upon 
the  cross,  gave  his  mother  into  John's  care.  In 
the  selection  of  John  we  see  wise  thoughtfulness. 
He  gave  her  a  heart  that  could  best  understand 
her  own.  James,  with  his  common-sense,  prac- 
tical view  of  religion,  would  probably  be  unable 


124  Individuality 


to  sympathize  with  the  deeper  thoughts  of  her 
who  loved  to  keep  and  ponder  the  mysteries  of 
heaven.  ''For  her  children  after  the  flesh,  she 
had  now  a  son  after  the  Spirit,  St.  John,  the  man 
of  virgin  soul,  as  the  early  Church  loved  to  call 
him,  for  her  of  virgin  mind  the  best  friend." 
And  the  friendship  was  as  abiding  as  it  was  holy. 
From  that  hour,  we  read,  ''that  disciple  took  her 
to  his  own  home." 

At  the  beginning  of  his  First  Epistle,  St.  John 
says,  "If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the 
light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another;" 
and  in  proportion  as  we  realize  his  presence  and 
his  claims,  we  appreciate  more  practically  the 
bonds  which  unite  us  to  those  who  are  treading 
the  same  path,  who,  with  us,  have  been  made  his 
children.  The  new  commandment  of  love  to 
one  another  is  imperative ;  we  must  earnestly  set 
ourselves  to  fulfill  it.  So  long  as  we  do  not,  it  is 
idle  for  us  to  pretend  that  we  are  in  the  light, 
that  we  know  God,  love  God,  are  of  God.  In 
words  perhaps  more  familiar  than  many  other 
texts,  "He  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he 
hath  seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath 
not  seen?"  On  the  other  hand,  if  "we  love  one 
another,"  God,  who  is  essentially  love,  dwelleth 
in  us ;  for  charity,  while  it  helps  us  to  gain  more 
love  for  God,  is  itself  a  fruit  of  such  love  in  its 
first  beginning,  is  a  "due  sense"  of  that  supreme 


Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity  125 

love  wherewith  he  first  so  loved  us  as  to  send 
his  own  Son  to  be  our  Savior ;  and  St.  John  will 
not  recognize  its  existence  apart  from  the  prin- 
ciple of  affectionate  obedience  to  God ;  he  views 
the  two  loves  as  inseparable. 

It  is  the  supreme  acquisition — to  know  how 
to  love  in  a  way  to  suggest  the  Divine  love. 
After  that  the  exercise  of  every  other  virtue  and 
grace  is  easy.  It  is  easy  to  be  true  and  just  and 
patient  and  sympathetic  and  ministrant  when 
one  loves.  In  Luther's  work,  "On  the  Liberty 
of  Christians,"  there  are  two  sentences  that 
ought  never  to  be  separated :  "Faith  makes  the 
Christian  lord  over  everything ;  Love  makes  him 
the  servant  of  every  man."  Though  the  lower 
animals  have  feeling,  they  have  no  fellow-feeling. 
A  horse  will  enjoy  his  feed  of  corn  when  his 
yokefellow  lies  a-dying  in  the  neighboring  stall, 
and  never  turn  an  eye  of  pity  on  the  sufferer. 
They  have  strong  passions,  but  no  sympathy. 
It  is  said  that  the  wounded  deer  sheds  tears; 
but  it  belongs  to  man  only  to  "weep  with  them 
that  weep,"  and  by  sympathy  to  divide  another's 
sorrows,  and  double  another's  joys.  There  is 
constant  need  of  this  affectionate  disposition, 
out  of  which  spring  incessant  acts  of  kindness. 

A  Boston  minister  some  years  ago  had  occa- 
sion to  look  up  a  very  poor  family,  and  climbed 
up  four  flights  of  stairs  in  a  mission  tenement- 


126  Individuality 


house  on  his  errand.  His  tap  at  the  door  was 
answered  by  Dr.  PhilHps  Brooks,  with  a  baby  in 
his  arms.  Inquiry  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
woman  had  been  very  ill,  and  sorely  needed  fresh 
air,  but  had  no  one  with  whom  to  leave  her  little 
baby.  Phillips  Brooks  found  her  out,  gave  her 
tickets  for  a  tram-car  ride,  and  was  staying  tend- 
ing the  baby  while  she  enjoyed  it.  Only  from  a 
large  heart  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ  could 
such  an  act  of  real  kindness  have  sprung.  Sym- 
pathy with  the  masses  in  their  strifes  and  strug- 
gles does  not  come  from  observation  afar  off. 
A  letter  from  the  Pacific  Coast  gives  the  say- 
ing of  a  young  shop-girl,  which  is  so  pathetic 
because  so  true :  "It  seems  like  a  girl  has  got  to 
fall  before  any  one  is  ready  to  stretch  out  a  hand 
to  her."  ^lany  of  these  girls  are  away  from 
home,  inexperienced,  obliged  to  earn  their  living 
as  best  they  can,  with  little  nominal  and  less 
actual  legal  protection,  subject  to  hardships  and 
temptations  which  ought  to  be  impossible  in  a 
Christian  land,  without  personal  sympathy  from 
believers,  and  with  no  direct  help  from  the 
Church.  A  writer  relates  that  during  a  conver- 
sation with  George  Eliot,  not  long  before  her 
death,  a  vase  toppled  over  on  the  mantelpiece. 
The  great  authoress  quickly  and  unconsciously 
put  out  her  hand  to  stop  its  fall.  "I  hope,"  said 
she,  replacing  it,  "that  the  time  will  come  when 


Intuitive  Type  of  Christianity  127 

we  shall  instinctively  hold  up  the  man  or  woman 
who  begins  to  fall,  as  naturally  and  unconsciously 
as  we  arrest  a  falling  piece  of  furniture."  In 
'The  Greatest  Thing  in  the  World,"  Professor 
Drummond  beautifully  shows  the  need,  in  this 
work,  of  guilelessness — Nathanael's  chief  char- 
acteristic: "Guilelessness  is  the  grace  for  sus- 
picious people.  And  the  possession  of  it  is  the 
great  secret  of  personal  influence.  You  will  find, 
if  you  think  for  a  moment,  that  the  people  who 
influence  you  are  the  people  w^ho  believe  in  you. 
In  an  atmosphere  of  suspicion  men  shrivel  up; 
but  in  that  atmosphere  they  expand,  and  find 
encouragement  and  educative  fellowship.  It  is 
a  wonderful  thing  that,  here  and  there  in  this 
hard,  uncharitable  world,  there  should  still  be  left 
a  few  rare  souls  who  think  no  evil.  This  is  the 
great  unworldliness.  Love  'thinketh  no  evil,* 
imputes  no  motive,  sees  the  bright  side,  puts  the 
best  construction  on  every  action.  What  a  de- 
lightful state  of  mind  to  live  in !  What  a  stim- 
ulus and  benediction  even  to  meet  with  it  for  a 
day !  To  be  trusted  is  to  be  saved.  And  if  we 
try  to  influence  or  elevate  others,  we  shall  soon 
see  that  success  is  in  proportion  to  their  belief 
of  our  belief  In  them.  For  the  respect  of  another 
is  the  first  restoration  of  the  self-respect  a  man 
has  lost ;  our  ideal  of  what  he  is  becomes  to  him 
the  hope  and  pattern  of  what  he  may  become." 


■       IX 

Clje  Cemptattons  of  9lfiection 


129 


In  human  nature  there  are  two  opposite  poles  of  sin, 
within  which  all  the  other  forms  of  evil  find  their  places. 
Where  the  constitution  is  soft  and  loose,  the  temptation  is 
self-indulgence  in  its  various  forms;  but  where,  on  the 
contrary,  the  elements  are  finer  and  more  compact,  the 
danger  lies  in  self-conceit,  with  all  its  developments  of 
arrogance,  ambition,  and  intolerance.  St.  John's  was  a 
refined  and  reserved  nature,  and  pride  was  his  besetting 
sin.  —James  Stalker,  D.  D. 

130 


Cl^e  Cemptationjs  of  affection 

It  may  seem  somewhat  strange  that  this 
group  of  apostles  should  have  any  temptations 
to  which  they  are  specially  liable.  But  even  the 
most  saintly  character  is  not  free  here.  A  young 
friend  was  one  day  calling  upon  an  old  Christian 
woman,  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  just  waiting 
for  the  summons.  Said  this  friend,  "O,  granny, 
I  wish  I  was  as  sure  of  heaven,  and  as  near  it,  as 
you  are !"  With  a  look  of  unspeakable  emotion, 
the  old  woman  answered,  ''And  do  you  really 
think  the  devil  can  not  find  his  way  up  an  old 
woman's  garret-stairs?  O,  if  He  hadn't  said, 
'None  shall  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand,'  I  would 
have  been  away  wandering  long  ago !" 

The  greater  the  soul's  development,  the 
greater  its  sensitiveness.  This  explains  the  spir- 
itual throes  of  saintly  men — why  Fenelon  and 
Edwards  write  hard  things  against  themselves, 
while  Diderot  and  Hume  put  on  the  robes  of  self- 
complacency.  Temptation  does  not  cease  as  we 
rise  in  the  scale  of  moral  elevation.  Temptation 
never  ceases,  but  it  alters  its  form.  As  we  rise 
in  the  moral  scale  of  victory  over  it,  it  rises  also, 
becomes  more  subtle  and  refined;  so  that  to 
know  what  a  man's  temptations  are,  is  to  know 
131 


132  Individuahty 


what  the  man  himself  is.  Even  Jesus,  the  high- 
est, the  holiest,  was  tempted  as  truly  as  the 
vilest  drunkard  or  profligate  is  tempted,  though 
in  a  very  different  way.  ''To  fall  short  of  the 
ideal  of  the  Messiahship  was  the  Messiah's  temp- 
tation," says  Dean  Vaughan.  "It  was  sin  in  its 
most  refined  and  subtle  form  of  shortcoming, 
failure,  missing  the  mark.  With  him  it  was  no 
question  of  transgression ;  he  was  far  above  that. 
It  was  missing  the  ideal,  nothing  more,  nothing 
worse ;  a  mere  trifle,  we  might  think ;  yet  to  Jesus 
himself  this  to  us  seeming  trifle  was  agony.  And 
is  there  not  an  ideal  for  every  one  of  us?  Is  it 
not  in  us  to  he  something,  which  we  are  not  yet ; 
to  fill  our  place  in  the  world,  however  small  it  be, 
in  a  higher,  better,  nobler  way  than  we  have 
learned  to  fill  it?" 

What  are  some  of  the  temptations  peculiar  to 
this  group? 

I.  Self-assertion.  This  showed  itself  In 
John's  conduct,  when,  with  his  brother  and  his 
mother,  he  came  to  Jesus  with  his  ambitious  re- 
quest for  one  of  the  chief  places  of  honor  in  his 
kingdom.  It  is  a  sad  commentary  upon  human 
nature  that  immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of 
the  Savior's  prophetic  address  concerning  his 
sufferings  and  resurrection,  which  should  have 
filled  their  minds  with  deepest  humility  and  self- 
forgetfulness,  such  a  request  should  have  been 


The  Temptations  of  Affection  133 

preferred,  in  which  all  the  elements  of  selfishness 
are  manifested.  The  scheme  of  which  this  re- 
quest was  the  outcome,  was  of  the  earth,  earthy. 
Whether  the  mother  was  the  instigator  of  it,  or 
the  sons  themselves  only  using-  her  as  an  inter- 
cessor, is  of  little  moment.  In  either  case,  the 
mother  thought  only  of  her  sons,  and  her  sons 
only  of  themselves.  They  did  not  consider  their 
ten  brethren,  or  even  Peter,  who  had  always 
shared  with  them  the  privileges  of  the  inner 
circle.  ''Grant  that  we  may  have  the  two  chief 
places."  Let  the  rest  of  the  disciples  be  ranged 
as  it  may  please  Thee,  only  let  us  be  first.  The 
request  was  carnal.  It  conceives  of  the  kingdom 
as  one  of  place  and  power  and  outward  glory, 
and  not  of  spiritual  character  and  moral  glory. 
It  is  based  upon  mere  earthly  and  carnal  am- 
bition. Put  us  in  the  chief  place  of  power  and 
honor,  that  others  may  see  us,  and  we  may  look 
down  upon  others.  They  had  forgotten  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  spoken  but  recently,  con- 
cerning finding  life  and  losing  it,  and  gaining 
high  places  by  taking  low  ones.  They  were  run- 
ning counter  to  the  rule  which  saith,  "He  that 
exalteth  himself  shall  be  humbled,  and  he  that 
humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 

The  desire  for  distinction  is  one  of  the  radical 
principles  of  our  nature;  never  so  crucified  and 
buried  but  that,  in  unexpected  ways  and  mo- 


134  Individuality 


ments,  it  may  revive,  and  rise  again  in  power. 
In  the  world  we  find  it,  and  in  the  Church. 
Though  liable  to  desperate  abuse,  this  passion, 
like  every  other,  was  benevolently  given.  If  it 
causes  wars,  and  builds  up  oppressive  institu- 
tions, poisoning  the  hearts  and  cursing  the  lives 
of  men,  it  is  likewise  one  of  the  sharpest  spurs 
to  honorable  toil,  inspires  the  grandest  achieve- 
ments, and  strikes  its  deepest  roots  into  the  deep- 
est natures.  It  is,  then,  not  to  be  fought  against 
as  an  enemy  to  virtue,  but  drawn  into  service 
rather,  as  an  ally. 

Our  Lord  does  not  condemn  the  spirit  of 
ambition,  but  simply  aims  to  point  out  the  basis 
of  real  greatness.  The  ideal  and  measure  of 
greatness,  as  set  before  us  by  him,  consists  in 
usefulness.  He  who  does  the  greatest  amount 
of  good  in  this  world  is  the  greatest  man.  This 
is  the  Christian  sentiment.  It  is  also  at  bottom 
the  universal  sentiment.  Helpfulness  is  the 
highest  quality  of  human  life.  Service  is  the 
crowning  glory  of  man.  Its  characteristic  ele- 
ments are  two :  unselfish  love  as  the  root-virtue, 
and  lowliness  of  mind  as  the  specific  shape,  which 
love  must  take  when  it  girds  itself  to  serve. 
Such  was  the  spirit  of  Christ's  life ;  it  was  a  vol- 
untary service  for  other  men,  rooted  in  pure 
love  for  them,  and  carried  out  with  such  lowli- 
ness of  mind  as  deems  no  office  degrading  which 


The  Temptation  IS  of  Affection  135 

can  be  lovingly  rendered.  Rank  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  will  be  measured  by  humility.  Con- 
descension is  the  measure  of  exaltation.  The 
way  up  to  the  glory  of  the  Exalted  One  is 
through  humble,  self-denying  love.  ''Within 
the  circle  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  the  loftiest 
is  the  lowliest ;  the  lowHest  the  highest.  He  who 
stoops  down  to  minister,  steps  up  as  he  stoops 
down.  He  steps  up  by  stepping  down.  It  is 
so  much  nobler  to  do  good  than  to  get  good. 
It  is  so  much  more  glorious  to  glorify  than  to 
be  glorified.  To  be  serviceable  is  a  far  greater 
glory,  in  the  moral  sphere  of  things,  than  to  be 
served.  He,  therefore,  who  is  most  serviceable 
is  in  the  sublimest  position." 

All  such  service,  voluntarily  undertaken  in 
obedience  to  the  Divine  will,  corrects  self-asser- 
tion or  pride.  The  man  who  serves  from  his 
heart  can  not  indulge  in  self-assertion;  he  re- 
presses self  if  he  tries  to  perform  his  service  well. 
Each  effort,  each  five  minutes  of  conscientious 
service,  has  the  effect  of  keeping  self  down,  of 
bidding  it  submit  to  a  higher  and  more  righteous 
will. 

2.  Intolerance.  "And  John  answered  and 
said.  Master,  we  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in 
thy  name;  and  we  forbade  him,  because  he  fol- 
loweth  not  us.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Eorbid 
him  not;  for  he  that  is  not  against  us  is  for  us." 


136  Lidividuality 


(Luke  ix,  49,  50.)  This  is  one  of  the  shortest  of 
the  recorded  conversations  of  Jesus.  It  deals 
with  the  hardest  condition  in  which  wrong  and 
right  are  mixed  together.  There  was  good  in 
the  jealousy  of  the  disciples  for  Jesus,  even 
though  it  misled  them.  There  was  evil  in  the 
narrowness  into  which  it  led  them. 

It  may  surprise  some  to  find  John,  the  apostle 
of  love,  consenting  to  so  uncharitable  a  deed; 
but,  as  Professor  Bruce  remarks,  ^'Such  surprise 
is  founded  on  superficial  views  of  his  character, 
as  well  as  on  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  spiritual 
growth.  John  is  not  now  what  he  will  be.  .  .  . 
Devoted  in  mind,  tender  and  intense  in  his  at- 
tachment to  Jesus,  scrupulously  conscientious  in 
all  his  actions,  he  is  even  now;  but  he  is  also 
bigoted,  intolerant,  ambitious."  The  silencing 
of  this  exorcist  has  had  its  counterpart  in  every 
age  of  the  Church.  Prejudice  is  one  of  the 
greatest  enemies  to  human  welfare.  Of  all  the 
train  of  mental  ills  with  which  we  are  affected,  it 
is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  be  eradicated.  And 
the  strongest  prejudices  are  the  religious  ones. 
Whatever  its  etymology,  "bigot"  is  an  ugly 
word;  and  "bigotry"  an  ugly  thing.  Rowland 
Hill,  who  would  often  quote,  with  great  relish, 
a  remark  of  a  favorite  author — "Mr.  Bigotry  fell 
down  and  broke  his  leg;  would  that  he  had 
broken  his  neck!" — undertook  to  pen  his  epi- 


The  Temptations  of  Affection  137 

taph.  But,  alas !  bigotry  still  lives.  No  Church, 
no  sect,  has  a  monopoly  of  it.  While  many  of 
us,  perhaps,  are  not  open  to  the  charge  of  big- 
otry in  its  grossest  and  more  palpable  forms,  the 
tendency  is  within  all  of  us ;  and  a  close  analysis 
of  its  true  nature,  and  a  close  search  into  our 
own  spirit  and  temper,  will  but  too  often  detect 
its  presence  and  workings  where,  on  a  superficial 
view,  they  have  been  unsuspected. 

Intolerance  is  an  essential  element  of  bigotry. 
All  intolerance  is  based  upon  egotism.  It  pro- 
ceeds from  the  assumption  that  you  have  reached 
the  ideal.  This  sort  of  feeling  is  the  worst  char- 
acteristic of  ultra-sectarianism — a  spirit  which 
would  "compass  sea  and  land,"  not  merely  "to 
gain  one  proselyte,"  but  also  to  hinder  a  relig- 
ious rival  from  the  attainment  of  a  similar  pur- 
pose. But  that  such  was  not  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
is  seen  in  the  mild  yet  earnest  reply  with  which 
he  met  the  manifestation  of  this  haughty  and 
jealous  exclusiveness  of  the  beloved  disciple: 
"Forbid  him  not;  for  there  is  no  man  which 
shall  do  a  miracle  in  my  name  that  can  lightly 
speak  evil  of  me."  All  are  Christ's,  and  yet  all 
vary  in  their  manifestations  of  religious  char- 
acter. This  should  enhance  to  us  the  law  of 
Christian  charity,  which  reminds  us  that  men 
who  seem  "not  to  follow  with  us,"  may  yet  in 
spirit  be  truly  of  us  and  with  us. 


138  Individuality 


It  is  this  holding  the  truth  as  it  is  given  to 
you^  with  fidelity  to  your  convictions,  and  at  the 
same  time  allowing  other  men  to  hold  the  truth 
as  it  is  revealed  to  t]iem — it  is  this  which  means 
Christian  toleration.  Let  us  remember  the  words 
of  John  Wesley,  a  man  whose  bitterest  enemy 
could  not  fairly  accuse  him  of  indifference  to  the 
doctrines  and  faith  ''once  delivered  to  the 
saints;"  and  yet  he  wrote  thus  liberally  and 
large-heartedly  to  a  correspondent:  "Men  may 
die  without  any  opinions,  and  yet  be  carried  into 
Abraham's  bosom;  but  if  we  be  without  love, 
what  will  knowledge  avail?  I  will  not  quarrel 
with  you  about  opinions.  Only  see  that  your 
heart  be  right  toward  God,  and  that  you  know 
and  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  love  your 
neighbors,  and  walk  as  your  Master  walked,  and 
I  ask  no  more.  I  am  sick  of  opinions.  Give  me 
a  good  and  substantial  religion,  a  humble,  gentle 
love  of  God  and  man." 

3.  Temper.  The  disposition  we  are  now  con- 
sidering is  peculiarly  liable  to  give  way  to  anger, 
resentment,  or  the  like.  That  John  especially, 
whose  usual  temper  was  so  gentle  and  affection- 
ate, should  have  so  completely  lost  his  temper 
as  to  want  to  call  down  fire  on  his  opposers, 
ought  to  be  an  instructive  warning  even  to  the 
most  charitable  and  meek  to  be  constantly  on 
their  guard  against  the  first  risings  of  prejudice, 


The  Temptations  of  Affection  139 

passion,  and  false  zeal,  lest  the  fierce  spirit  ob- 
tain the  mastery  over  them. 

Professor  Drummond  says:  ''The  peculiarity 
of  ill-temper  is,  that  it  is  the  vice  of  the  virtuous. 
It  is  the  one  blot  on  an  otherwise  noble  char- 
acter. You  know  men  who  are  all  but  perfect, 
and  women  who  would  be  entirely  perfect,  but 
for  an  easily  ruffled,  quick-tempered,  or  'touchy' 
disposition.  This  compatibility  of  ill-temper 
with  high  moral  character  is  one  of  the  strangest 
and  saddest  problems  of  ethics."  To  be  "not 
easily  provoked," — in  a  word,  good  temper 
seems  to  be  generally  reckoned  rather  among  the 
gifts  of  nature,  the  privileges  of  a  happy  consti- 
tution, than  among  the  possible  results  of  care- 
ful self-discipline.  We  speak  of  our  unhappy 
temper  as  if  it  were  something  that  entirely  re- 
moved the  blame  from  us,  and  threw  it  all  upon 
the  peculiar  sensitiveness  of  our  frame.  The  ex- 
cuse is  as  absurd  as  it  is  mischievous.  It  is 
granted  that  there  may  be  great  differences  of 
natural  constitution,  just  as  there  are  great  dif- 
ferences of  outward  situation.  But,  after  all,  the 
only  reasonable  conclusion  appears  to  be,  that 
the  attempt  to  govern  the  temper  is  more  diffi- 
cult in  some  cases  than  in  others,  not  that  it  is 
in  any  case  impossible. 

In  the  rising  of  wrath  we  are  often  ready,  with 
Jonah,  to  excuse  ourselves,  and  say,  "I  do  well 


140  Individuality 


to  be  angry."  How  familiar  the  expressions, 
''It  is  so  provoking,"  or  '1  was  provoked  beyond 
endurance!"  We  even  quote  the  well-known 
maxim,  ''There  is  a  limit  beyond  which  patience 
ceases  to  be  a  virtue."  But  what  does  all  this 
mean?  Neither  more  nor  less  than  that  ourj 
mind  has,  for  the  time  being,  lost  its  equilibrium, 
and  therefore  we  are  so  far  forth  out  of  charity 
with  God  and  our  neighbor.  Of  course  the 
range  of  such  an  expression  is  enormous.  It 
may  go  from  a  hasty,  passing  phrase  to  the 
deadly  sin  of  anger,  malice,  and  all  uncharitable- 
ness.  At  any  rate,  it  is  the  beginning  of  sin; 
and,  says  the  wise  man,  the  "beginning  of  strife 
is  as  when  one  letteth  out  water;"  that  is  to  say, 
no  one  knows  when  or  where  it  will  stop.  Pas- 
sion, when  roused  from  its  slumber,  will  burst 
through  any  but  the  strongest  barriers.  William 
Cleaver  Wilkinson  has  written  a  spirited  poem 
on  an  incident  taken  from  the  "American  Cyclo- 
pedia:" "Long  Pond,"  or  as  it  is  now  called, 
"Runaway  Pond,"  was  formerly  situated  on  the 
summit  of  a  hill,  near  the  towns  of  Glover  and 
Greensborough,  Vermont,  and  was  one  of  the 
sources  of  the  Lamoille  River.  In  June,  1810, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  open  an  outlet  from  it 
to  Barton  River  on  the  north,  when  the  whole 
waters  of  the  pond,  which  was  one  mile  and  a 
half  long  by  half  a  mile  wide,  tore  their  way 


The  Temptations  of  Affection  141 

through  the  quicksand,  which  was  only  sepa- 
rated by  a  thin  stratum  of  clay  from  the  pond, 
and  advanced  in  a  wall  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high 
and  twenty  rods  wide,  carrying  before  them 
mills,  houses,  barns,  fences,  forests,  cattle, 
horses,  sheep — leveling  the  hills  and  filling  up 
the  valleys,  till  they  reached  Lake  Memphrema- 
gog.  Just  so  the  whole  world  is  full  of  the  woe 
that  temper  works  when  it  is  allowed  to  become 
uncontrolled.  Nations,  Churches,  congrega- 
tions, families,  and  the  homes  and  the  hearts  of 
men,  lie  in  ashes  all  around  us,  because  of  anger 
and  ill-temper.  All  our  evil  passions,  taken  to- 
gether, slay  their  thousands,  but  this  evil  passion 
of  anger  its  tens  of  thousands. 

A  vigorous  temper  is  not  altogether  an  evil. 
"Men  who  are  as  easy  as  an  old  shoe  are  gener- 
ally as  of  little  worth."  Let  us  thank  God  when 
we  see  a  minister  have  temper  enough  to  be  in- 
dignant at  wrong,  and  to  be  firm  for  the  right ; 
but  indignation  against  wrong-doing  is  different 
from  personal  resentment.  Christ  denounced  se- 
verely those  who  devoured  widows'  houses,  and 
for  a  pretense  made  long  prayers.  But  when  the 
word  anger  is  used  in  the  Bible  with  approba- 
tion, it  refers  to  this  indignation  against  sin. 
Otherwise,  it  is  spoken  of  with  reprobation.  Sin, 
not  our  neighbor,  must  be  its  object.  We  are  to 
turn  our  cheeks  to  the  smiters,  but  not  other 


142  Individuality 


people's  cheeks.  Furthermore,  there  is  need  of 
great  caution  even  in  the  exercise  of  what  is 
called  ''righteous"  indignation.  We  may  have 
too  much  feeling  about  good  things.  Sometimes 
we  flame  with  holy  indignation,  as  we  think; 
we  feel  most  intensely  along  the  lines  of  our  con- 
victions and  opinions;  indeed,  we  see  the  right 
so  clearly,  and  espouse  it  so  ardently,  that  our 
feelings  about  even  the  right  are  wrong.  "Our 
indignation  toward  wrong,'*  says  another,  "is  a 
hellish  instead  of  a  heavenly  vehemence."  Ill- 
temper  can  be  overcome.  It  must  be  overcome, 
though  it  cost  us  twenty-two  years'  work,  as  it 
is  said  to  have  cost  a  great  saint.  The  worst- 
tempered  people  may  be  made  gentle  and  loving 
in  speech,  act,  and  disposition  by  the  renewing 
and  transforming  power  of  Divine  grace.  God 
can  take  the  jangled  keys  and  put  them  in  tune, 
if  we  will  but  put  them  into  his  hand. 


^pixiUSilitti  ^fiectiott 


143 


Self-willing,  self-seeking,  self-glorying, — here  is  the 
curse.  No  shackles  remain  when  these  are  gone ;  nothing 
can  be  wanting  when  the  spirit  sees  itself,  loses  itself  in 
Him  who  is  light,  and  in  whom  is  no  darkness  at  all. 

—F,  D.  Maurice. 
X44 


^pmt^^aieti  affection 

The  Pentecostal  epoch  was  an  era  of  won- 
ders. The  great  promise  of  the  Father  was,  that 
he  would  send  his  Spirit  into  the  hearts  of  men. 
Christ's  command  was,  ''Tarry  ye  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from 
on  high,"  and  the  disciples  obeyed;  they  ''all 
continued  in  prayer  and  supplication."  Then 
when  Pentecost  came  they  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.  What  was  the  effect  of  this 
Divine  baptism  on  the  disciples?  It  made  them 
pre-eminently  spiritual.  It  filled  them  with 
Divine  enthusiasm — with  "fire."  The  apostles 
evinced  such  fervor  that  many  supposed  they 
were  under  the  power  of  strong  drink.  No,  says 
Peter,  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost  working  in  us.  It 
is  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  will  make  men 
eloquent. 

Now,  John  was  in  the  very  midst  of  these  pen- 
tecostal  wonders.  He,  if  any  one,  was  "filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost."  But  the  original  texture 
of  his  nature  abides.  He  is  John  still.  He  has 
lost  nothing ;  rather  he  has  become  more  simply, 
characteristically,  profoundly,  essentially  him- 
self— himself,  purified  and  exalted.  After  Pen- 
tecost John  grew  to  be  very  spiritual  and  deep, 
lo  145 


146  Individuality 


His  name  does  not  occur  often  in  the  Book  of 
Acts ;  he  retires  behind  the  more  prominent  fig- 
ure of  Peter.  But  there  is  a  reason  for  this.  Dr. 
Stalker,  in  his  ''Two  St.  Johns  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment," clearly  explains  it :  "There  are  gifts  which 
qualify  for  leadership  and  publicity;  but  those 
who  occupy  the  second  place,  or  who  are  hidden 
altogether  from  the  eyes  of  the  world,  may  have 
the  deeper  nature  and  the  finer  graces.  Some 
gifts  are  intended  for  immediate  effect;  others 
come  slowly  to  maturity,  but  their  influence  is 
far  more  lasting.  St.  Peter  had  the  gifts  neces- 
sary to  break  ground  for  Christianity,  to  cham- 
pion it  in  the  face  of  opposition,  and  to  direct 
its  first  conquests;  but  St.  John,  sunk  out  of 
sight,  was  far  nearer  the  heart  of  Christianity. 
In  his  Gospel  there  is  a  view  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
widely  different  from  that  which  is  found  in  Acts. 
In  Acts  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  power  by  which 
Christianity  is  extended — the  very  power  which 
rested  supremely  on  St.  Peter ;  but  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  substitute  for  Jesus, 
the  Intermediary  between  the  invisible  Christ 
and  the  visible  Church,  who  takes  of  the  things 
of  Christ  and  shows  them  unto  us.  In  the  Spir- 
it's influence,  as  it  is  represented  in  Acts,  St. 
John  had  his  share;  but  he  especially  shared  in 
the  other  mode  of  the  Spirit's  influence  described 
in  his  own  Gospel.    The  things  of  Christ  were 


Spirit-fdicd  Ajfeciion  147 

shown  to  him,  the  character  of  Christ  was  put 
upon  him,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  was  breathed  into 
him." 

It  is  well  to  inquire,  therefore,  what  the  char- 
acteristic effects  of  Spirit-filled  affection  are,  as 
they  are  revealed  in  John's  experience  after  he 
received  "power  from  on  high?" 

I.  Spiritual  insight.  John  was  naturally  of  an 
intuitive  temperament.  He  did  not  reason;  he 
saw  truth ;  he  felt  it.  Hence,  when  Spirit-filled, 
he  becomes  a  great,  loving,  deeply-spiritual  soul, 
all  aglow  with  adoration  and  delight  and  ever- 
living  wonder,  absorbed  with  the  Lord,  and  rest- 
ing in  the  calm  assurance  of  his  favor.  He 
speaks  and  writes  as  if  the  ''highest  life  of  his 
soul  was  the  wondering  study  of  one  vast  Apoc- 
alypse." Now,  what  is  the  secret  of  this  deep 
insight  into  religious  truth?  Love.  He  is  the 
apostle  of  love.  It  has  been  beautifully  said: 
"As  when  one  gazes  with  speculative  eye  into 
the  starlit  azure,  piercing  far  into  its  deep  im- 
mensity, so  (spiritually)  does  this  man  gaze  into 
the  depths  of  Christ  with  the  gaze  of  love." 

"Affection  is  part  of  insight,"  is  the  apt  re- 
mark of  Canon  Mozley.  The  lovelit  eye  sees 
deep  into  the  heart  of  things.  "Spiritual  truths, 
which  coyly  shrink  from  the  gaze  of  cold  intel- 
lectualism,  manifest  themselves  to  those  who  pos- 
sess the  lover's  heart.    In  the  light  of  love,  which 


148  Individuality 


the  Holy  Spirit  kindles,  many  things  are  made 
visible  which  otherwise  would  remain  con- 
cealed." If  any  man  could  be  known  by  his 
style  of  writing,  surely  the  apostle  John  was  that 
man.  Each  apostle  has  his  own  key-word.  John 
may  be  said  to  have  three:  'Xife,"  ''Light," 
''Love."  The  purport  of  his  entire  apostolic  and 
ministerial  life  has  to  do  with  "the  Word  of  Life" 
— with  the  deep  spiritual  revelation  of  life.  The 
quality  of  John's  Gospel  requires  the  very  place 
that  has  been  assigned  to  it  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. John  seems  to  say:  "You  have  heard 
what  the  evangelists  have  had  to  tell,  and  have 
seen  the  Vv'onderful  things  of  their  Master's  min- 
istry; now  let  me  explain  the  deep  meaning  of 
the  whole."  Hence,  Canon  Farrar,  in  his  "Mes- 
sages of  the  Books,"  pronounces  John's  Gospel 
"eminently  the  spiritual  Gospel,  the  Gospel  of 
Eternity,  the  Gospel  of  Love.  This  feature  was 
observed  in  the  earliest  days.  The  other  Gospels 
were  called,  in  contradistinction  to  it,  the  'bodily* 
Gospels."  John's  Gospel  is  emphatically  the 
Gospel  of  the  Incarnation.  "Christ  fills  the 
whole  book,  and  absorbs  the  whole  life  of  the 
drama  of  which  he  is  the  center.  The  informing 
idea  of  every  page  and  chapter  is  the  Word  made 
flesh."  And  the  very  method  in  which  the  teach- 
ing is  set  forth  reveals  the  writer's  individuality. 
John  was  a  mystic,  and  delighted  in  mystic  sym- 


spirit-filled  Affection  149 

holism.  Hence  ''there  are  in  St.  John  no  scribes, 
no  lepers,  no  publicans,  no  demoniacs;  there  is 
little  or  nothing  which  can  be  called  anecdotic." 
The  miracles  are  here  narrated  in  the  light  of 
symbolic  acts ;  from  picture  and  symbol  we  pass 
to  spiritual  meanings ;  through  the  porch  of  mir- 
acles and  mighty  signs  and  wonders  we  enter  the 
holy  place  of  Truth  and  Love. 

John,  with  his  contemplative  turn  of  mind, 
was  not  just  the  man  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
headquarters  of  Cornelius,  and  become  the  me- 
dium through  which  the  Holy  Ghost  should  fall 
upon  all  his  household.  Peter,  by  nature,  was 
the  Spirit's  best  medium  for  that  great  mission. 
But  John,  and  not  Peter,  was  the  Spirit's  best 
medium  for  the  revelation  of  the  deep  things  of 
Christ.  John's  is  the  Gospel  of  the  witness.  He 
fixes  his  eye  on  life  as  found  in  communion  with 
God.  He  becomes  St.  John  the  divine,  as  we 
find  him  in  the  Epistles — sweet,  rich,  mature  in 
grace.  It  is  a  law  of  our  nature  that  we  become 
like  those  whom  we  habitually  love.  In  China 
Buddhist  priests  have  been  heard  to  say :  ''Think 
of  Buddha,  and  you  will  be  transformed  into 
Buddha.  If  you  pray  to  Buddha,  and  do  not 
become  Buddha,  it  is  because  the  mouth  prays, 
and  not  the  mind."  The  same  is  true  in  the 
highest  degree  of  Christianity:  communion  with 
God  in  Christ,  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 


1 50  Individuality 


must  have  an  assimilating  effect,  very  gradual, 
it  may  be,  but  sure.  To  live  with  Christ  makes 
us  like  Christ:  that  is  to  say,  Christians. 

2.  Humility.  Before  Pentecost,  John  had 
shown  much  self-seeking,  much  unholy  am- 
bition. He  and  his  brother  had  schemes  for 
personal  advancement.  But  one  of  the  most 
blessed  results  of  the  "fullness  of  the  Spirit"  in 
John's  experience  was  his  unfeigned  humility. 
See  how  his  selfishness,  which  so  marred  his 
character  previous  to  Pentecost,  now  gives  place 
to  the  most  beautiful  unselfishness.  He  does  not 
even  use  his  own  name  in  his  Gospel  and  First 
Epistle;  he  simply  calls  himself  "that  other  dis- 
ciple." In  the  private  letters  (his  Second  and 
Third  Epistles)  he  was  virtually  compelled  to 
describe  himself,  but  instead  of  choosing  the  high 
title  of  "Apostle,"  which  it  was  not  necessary  for 
him  as  it  was  necessary  for  Paul  to  claim,  he  calls 
himself  "the  Elder"— a  term  used  to  express  the 
dignity  of  age  and  the  office  of  a  Presbyter. 

Self-abasement  before  God,  a  dependence 
upon  him  for  everything — these  are  the  essential 
notes  of  the  man  "filled  with  the  Spirit."  The 
humblest  of  all  men  was  Christ.  He  said,  "I 
can  of  my  own  self  do  nothing:  as  I  hear,  I 
judge."  (John  v,  30.)  "I  came  down  from 
heaven,  7iot  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of 
Him  that  sent  me."    (John  vi,  38.)    "I  do  noth- 


spirit-filled  Affection  151 

ing  of  myself."  (John  viii,  28.)  If  we  are  filled 
with  self-complacency,  as  if  we  stood  in  need  of 
nothing — if  we  can  not  bear  to  be  wholly  laid 
in  the  dust — we  have  not  seen  the  Spirit,  neither 
known  him.  The  memoir  of  Billy  Bray,  a  pious 
miner  of  Cornwall,  England,  written  by  the  Rev. 
F.  W.  Bourne,  and  republished  in  this  country, 
contains  the  following  concerning  the  unfeigned 
humility  of  this  godly  man : 

"His  humility  was  his  safeguard  all  through 
life.  An  aged  person  remembers  hearing  him 
say  on  one  occasion :  'Soon  after  I  was  converted 
the  devil  said  to  me,  ''Billy  Bray,  you  '11  be  a 
great  man ;"  but  I  sunk  into  nothing,  and  in  that 
way  slipped  through  the  devil's  hands.'  Another 
result  of  Billy's  deep  piety  was  his  continual 
sense  of  dependence  upon  God.  The  Lord's 
servants  without  the  Lord's  presence  are  weak 
like  other  men,  like  Samson  when  he  lost  his 
locks. 

"Here  is  one  'experience'  of  Billy's :  'When  I 
was  in  the  St.  Neot  Circuit  I  was  on  the  plan; 
and  I  remember  that  one  Sunday  I  was  planned 
at  Redgate,  and  there  was  a  chapel  full  of  people, 
and  the  Lord  gave  me  great  power  and  liberty  in 
speaking ;  but  all  at  once  the  Lord  took  away  his 
Spirit  from  me,  so  that  I  could  not  speak  a  word, 
and  this  might  have  been  the  best  sermon  that 
some  of  them  ever  heard.     "What !"  you  say, 


152  Individuality 


''and  looking  like  a  fool,  and  not  able  to  speak?" 
Yes,  for  it  was  not  long  before  I  said :  "I  am  glad 
I  am  stopped,  and  that  for  three  reasons.  And 
the  first  is.  To  humble  my  soul  and  make  me  feel 
more  dependent  on  my  Lord,  to  think  more  fully 
of  him  and  less  of  myself.  The  next  reason  is, 
To  convince  you  that  you  are  ungodly;  for  you 
say  we  can  speak  what  we  have  a  mind  to,  with- 
out the  Lord  as  well  as  with  him;  but  you  can 
not  say  so  now,  for  you  heard  how  I  was  speak- 
ing; but  when  the  dear  Lord  took  away  his 
Spirit  I  could  not  say  another  word ;  without  my 
Lord  I  could  do  nothing.  And  the  third  reason 
is,  That  some  of  you  young  men  who  are  stand- 
ing here  may  be  called  to  stand  in  the  pulpit 
some  day  as  I  am;  and  the  Lord  may  take  his 
Spirit  from  you  as  he  has  from  me,  and  then  you 
might  say,  'It  is  no  good  for  me  to  try  to  preach 
or  exhort,  for  I  was  stopped  the  last  time  I  tried 
to  preach,  and  I  shall  preach  no  more.'  But  now 
you  can  say:  'I  saw  the  poor  old  Billy  Bray 
stopped  once  like  me,  and  he  did  not  mind  it,  and 
told  the  people  he  was  glad  his  dear  Lord 
stopped  him,  and  Billy  Bray's  dear  Lord  is  my 
Lord,  and  I  am  glad  he  stopped  me,  too,  for  I 
can  benefit  the  people  and  glorify  God ;  that  is 
what  I  want.'  "  I  then  spoke  a  great  while,  and 
told  the  people  what  the  dear  Lord  gave  me  to 
say.'  " 


spirit-filled  AJJection  153 

What  more  beautiful  evidence  of  Spirit-filled 
affection  than  humility!  What  words  express 
more  truly  the  feelings  of  one's  heart,  than  those 
lines  of  the  poet: 

"O,  I  would  walk 
A  weary  journey  to  the  farthest  verge 
Of  the  big  world  to  kiss  that  good  man's  hand 
Who,  in  the  blaze  of  wisdom  and  of  art, 
Preserves  a  lowly  mind;  and  to  his  God, 
Feeling  the  sense  of  his  own  littleness, 
Is  as  a  child  in  meek  simplicity .^^ 

3.  The  spirit  of  tolerance  and  charity.  Before 
Pentecost  John  had  been  characterized  as  intol- 
erant and  bigoted.  After  Pentecost  we  see  no 
more  narrowness  in  him.  In  accordance  with 
the  Divine  commission,  the  gospel  was  to  be 
carried  from  Jerusalem  to  Judea,  to  Samaria,  and 
to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  until  there 
was  no  more  ground  to  be  covered.  But  after 
Pentecost,  the  early  Christians  were  not  disposed 
to  leave  Jerusalem.  The  martyrdom  of  Stephen, 
however,  was  the  stirring  up  of  the  nest.  The 
infatuated  Jews  who  wrought  that  murderous 
deed  may  have  fondly  hoped  that  it  would  prove 
the  death-blow  of  the  little  Christian  Church. 
But  God  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him. 
Thus  it  is  written,  *'The  disciples  that  were  scat- 
tered abroad  went  everywhere  preaching  the 
Word."  Providence  made  them  all  missionaries. 
Among  those  who  fled  from  Jerusalem  at  this 


1 54  Individuality 


juncture  was  Philip,  one  of  the  seven  deacons. 
He  was  a  man  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  spe- 
cially fitted  for  evangelistic  work ;  and  on  reach- 
ing a  city  of  Samaria  he  began  at  once  to  "preach 
Christ  unto  them."  "The  people  with  one  ac- 
cord gave  heed  unto  those  things  which  he 
spake;"  and  probably  before  Philip  himself  re- 
alized it,  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  great  re- 
vival. 

"Now  when  the  apostles  which  were  at  Jeru- 
salem heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the  Word 
of  God,  they  sent  unto  them  Peter  and  John." 
This  must  have  been  a  most  instructive  experi- 
ence to  John.  When  last  there,  he  wanted  to 
invoke  fire  from  heaven  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
one  of  the  villages,  to  consume  them.  Such  was 
the  natural  man  in  John.  But  now  that  a  more 
loving  spirit  actuates  him,  this  same  John  calls 
down  fire,  but  it  is  the  flame  of  pentecostal  bless- 
ing; and  he,  who  before  had  sought  to  devote 
a  whole  hamlet  to  destruction,  now  preaches  the 
gospel  in  many  villages.  John  had  learned  that 
charity  which  can  pardon  all  things,  even  insult 
ofifered  to  his  Master.  This  most  difficult  lesson 
of  Love,  "which  makes  allowance  even  for  the 
uncharitable,"  is  one  of  the  grandest  results  of 
Spirit-filled  affection.  "When  filled  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  says  Dr.  Stalker,  "John  was  full  of 
love,  and  he  saw  objects  to  admire  or  to  pity 


spirit-filled  Affectio7i  155 

where  formerly  he  had  only  seen  objects  to  hate 
and  to  destroy.  When  men  are  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  they  will  look  on  their  fellow-crea- 
tures with  new  eyes;  they  will  see  in  the  worst 
of  them  precious  souls  to  be  loved  and  re- 
deemed/* 

This  same  spirit  of  toleration,  or  transforma- 
tion in  his  prejudices,  is  seen  on  another  occa- 
sion. There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  John 
remained  in  Jerusalem  till  after  the  first  Apos- 
tolic Council,  mention  of  which  is  made  in  Acts 
XV,  was  held ;  for  St.  Paul  states  that,  when  pres- 
ent on  that  occasion  with  Barnabas,  John  was 
one  of  the  apostles  who  greeted  him.  That 
Council  was  held  to  determine  the  relation  of 
Gentile  Christians  to  Mosaic  ordinances.  The 
decision  of  the  Council  was  liberal  and  tolerant ; 
and  then  "the  pillar-apostles,"  James  and  Peter 
and  John,  gave  their  right  hands  to  Barnabas 
and  Paul  as  a  pledge  of  good  fellowship,  and 
formally  designated  them  to  the  ministry  of  the 
imcirciimcision. 

It  seems  strange  to  have  such  an  example  in 
the  infant  Church,  since  toleration  is  usually  the 
fruit  of  long  experience.  Even  more  surprising 
is  it,  when  we  consider  the  antecedents  of  the 
men  who  displayed  it.  They  were  Jews,  of  a 
most  bigoted  race.  And  one  of  the  hardest  les- 
sons to  learn  is  to  unlearn,  and  act  contrary  to 


156  Individuality 


early  convictions.  But  when  "filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  though  the  apostles  themselves, 
through  force  of  habit,  continued  to  observe  the 
national  customs,  they  would  not  bind  the  Gen- 
tiles to  do  the  same.  Therein  was  a  tolerance 
born  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Not  "liberalism ;"  "no- 
where," says  one  author,  "does  John  exhibit 
trace  or  taint  of  that  false  'liberality'  which  bids 
truth  and  lie  shake  hands  and  be  friends,  or  judi- 
cially binds  them  over  to  keep  the  peace ;  far  less 
of  that  'philosophic  breadth'  which  places  Jesus 
Christ,  Zoroaster,  Sakya-Mouni,  Mohammed 
(and  why  not,  by  and  by,  Joseph  Smith?)  in  the 
same  Pantheon.  He  is  full  of  the  grand  intoler- 
ance of  love;  incapable  of  compromise  or  truce 
with  fasehood,  however  mighty  or  loftily 
throned.  If  a  man  come  and  bring  not  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ,  whosoever  'biddeth  him  God- 
speed is  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds.'  (2  John,  11.)" 
It  is  a  sad  fact  that  the  decision  rendered  by 
that  Council  at  Jerusalem  should  ever  have  been 
forgotten.  The  intolerance  which  has  resulted 
from  losing  sight  of  it  has  been  the  disgrace  of 
Christianity.  There  is  no  surer  sign  of  the  pen- 
tecostal  gift  than  spiritual  unification — the  power 
by  which  those  who  differ  in  temperament, 
tastes,  and  opinions  are  welded  into  one.  Vain 
has  been  every  effort  to  crystallize  the  life  of  the 
Church  around  doctrinal,  ceremonial  or  ecclesi- 


spirit-filled  Affection  157 

astical  centers.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  only 
source  of  spiritual  unity.  This  is  one  of  the 
great  lessons  of  Pentecost ;  the  Church  needs  to 
study  it  on  her  knees,  for  nothing  is  more  indis- 
pensable to  the  world's  evangelization  than  this 
spiritual  unity.  What  does  it  matter  to  the  Chi- 
nese whether  I  am  a  Methodist  and  my  brother 
is  an  Episcopalian,  if  we  manifest  the  same 
Christlike  spirit?  But  such  oneness  can  only 
be  produced  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Before  Pente- 
cost the  apostles  had  their  childish  rivalries ;  but 
the  baptism  of  fire  burned  all  that  out  of  them. 
4.  Holy  hatred.  Dean  Stanley,  speaking  of 
John's  tempestuous  spirit  prior  to  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  says:  'It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
deep  stillness  of  such  a  character  as  this  should, 
like  the  Oriental  sky,  break  out  from  time  to 
time  into  tempests  of  impassioned  vehemence; 
still  less  that  the  character  which  was  to  excel 
all  others  in  its  devoted  love  of  good  should  give 
indications — in  its  earlier  stages  even  in  excess — 
of  that  intense  hatred  of  evil,  without  which  love 
of  good  can  hardly  be  said  to  exist."  It  is  the 
peculiarity  of  Christianity  that,  while  it  aims  to 
exclude  all  sin  from  the  heart,  it  does  not  dis- 
member the  soul  by  excluding  from  it  any  fac- 
ulty that  is  natural  to  it.  Of  these,  hatred  is 
one — one  terribly  liable  to  abuse,  but  rightly 
used,  a  potent  instrument  in  the  suppression  of 


158  Individuality 


evil.  After  Pentecost  John  did  not  cease  to  hate, 
and  become  an  indiscriminately  amiable  indi- 
vidual, whose  charity  made  no  distinction  be- 
tween good  and  evil.  To  the  last,  John  was 
what  he  was  at  the  first,  an  intense  hater  as  well 
as  an  intense  lover.  But  in  his  later  years  he 
"knew  better  what  to  hate — the  objects  of  his 
abhorrence  being  hypocrisy,  apostasy,  and  Laod- 
icean insincerity;  not,  as  of  old,  mere  ignorant 
rudeness  and  clownish  incivility." 

This  vigorous  abhorrence  of  evil  is  one  of  the 
special  gifts  of  Spirit-filled  afifection.  A  crying 
need  of  the  world  to-day  is  what  one  has  called 
"a  baptized  indignation  at  wrong-doing."  Love 
always  implies  hate.  Holiness  always  condemns 
unholiness.  And  the  one  secret  of  hating  evil 
is  in  the  dwelling  with  or  near  the  Good;  in 
being  filled  with  His  Spirit.  When  brought  into 
the  presence  and  under  the  temptation  of  evil, 
God's  people  are  to  rouse  up  the  power  of  indig- 
nation that  God  has  planted  in  them,  and  they 
are  to  clothe  the  higher  moral  nature  with  such 
resentment  as  shall  change  the  temptation  from 
a  solicitation  into  a  loathing.  The  command  is 
that  we  shall  strike  dead  whatever  is  low  and 
vile  and  mean,  with  the  energy  of  a  certain  di- 
vine hatred.  This  is  not  merely  a  permission, 
it  is  not  a  doubtful  power;  it  is  a  part  of  your 
Christian  duty,  it  is  a  religious  excellence. 


spirit-filled  Affection  159 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  the  natural  tempera- 
ment of  John — the  representative  man  of  this 
group — was  only  intensified  by  the  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  When  Payson  was  dying,  he 
exclaimed,  '*I  long  to  hand  a  full  cup  of  happi- 
ness to  every  human  being."  This  was  the  lan- 
guage of  a  heart  thoroughly  purged  of  all  selfish 
afTection,  and  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  love  which 
led  our  adorable  Jesus  to  give  his  life  for  human 
redemption.  This  same  spirit  of  love  character- 
ized John  to  the  last.  Among  the  beautiful  tra- 
ditions of  his  later  years,  Jerome  tells  us  that 
when  he  had  reached  his  extremest  old  age,  he 
became  too  feeble  to  walk  to  the  meetings,  and 
had  to  be  carried  by  young  men.  Once  more  his 
loving  followers  wished  to  hear  his  voice  in 
counsel.  To  the  Ephesian  Church  they  bore 
him,  and  upheld  him  while  he  preached  to  them 
the  summing  up  of  all  his  life  of  blessed  com- 
munion with  the  Lord — "Little  children,  love 
one  another."  He  could  no  longer  say  much, 
but  he  constantly  repeated  these  words.  When 
he  was  asked  why  he  constantly  repeated  them, 
his  answer  was:  ''Because  this  is  the  command 
of  the  Lord,  and  because  enough  is  done  if  but 
this  one  thing  be  done."  Here  we  have  the  foun- 
tain of  that  beauteous  life :  "Love  one  another," 
—for  "God  is  love." 


XI 

Key-word:  Intellect 
Thomas  (Didymus) 
Matthew  (Levi) 
James  (Son  of  Alphaeus) 


1 

l6i  \ 


What  is  the  hardest  task  in  the  world?    To  think. 

— Emerson. 

In  thinking,  or  intellection,  as  it  has  been  conveniently 
termed,  there  is  always  a  search  for  something  more  or 
less  vaguely  conceived,  for  a  clue  which  will  be  known 
when  it  occurs  by  seeming  to  satisfy  certain  conditions. 

— /.  Ward, 
162 


intellect 

Intellect  is  the  key-word  of  the  third  group. 
The  apostle  Thomas  is  the  representative. 

I.  Thomas  belonged  to  the  meditative  and 
thoughtful  section  of  the  apostles.  His  were 
the  struggles  of  the  intellectual  man.  Of  his  in- 
troduction to  Jesus  we  possess  no  account.  We 
must  agree  with  another  "that  his  conversion 
was  not  so  easy  for  a  man  of  his  temperament, 
as  for  the  impulsive  Peter  or  the  loving  John.'* 

There  are  three  titterances  of  Thomas  which 
are  noteworthy ;  and  in  each  instance  he  is  repre- 
sented as  expressing  opinions  which  prove  him 
to  have  been  very  slow,  not  only  in  believing, 
but  in  comprehending  spiritual  truths. 

The  first  is  that  mentioned  by  John  in  his 
account  of  the  death  of  Lazarus.  Jesus  had  de- 
clared his  intention  to  go  into  Judea  again,  in 
spite  of  all  the  mortal  dangers  which  awaited  him 
there.  The  Jews,  enraged  at  his  open  declara- 
tions of  his  Divine  character  and  origin,  were 
determined  to  punish  with  death  one  who  ad- 
vanced claims  which  they  pronounced  absolutely 
blasphemous.  This  deadly  hatred  they  had  so 
openly  expressed,  that  Jesus  himself  had  thought 
it  best  to  retire  awhile  from  that  region,  and  to 
163 


164  Individuality 


avoid  exposing  himself  to  the  fatal  effects  of  such 
malice.  Hence  the  disciples  could  not  under- 
stand why  he  would  expose  himself  now.  No 
doubt  Thomas  headed  the  affectionate  remon- 
strance, "Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone 
thee,  and  goest  thou  thither  again?"  for  when 
somewhat  later  Jesus  announced  his  intention  of 
going,  it  was  Thomas  who  said  to  his  fellow- 
disciples,  "Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with 
him."  John  and  Peter  are  silent,  but  the  heart 
of  Thomas  is  revealed.  It  was  as  though  he 
said:  "This  is  our  Master.  We  can  not  change 
his  purpose.  We  can  not  hinder  him.  That  is 
his  way.  He  will  go.  He  will  die.  Let  us  go, 
that  we  may  die  with  him." 

Two  traits  of  character  are  here  apparent: 
First.  The  most  entire  devotion  to  his  Master. 
Thomas  was  not  cold  and  phlegmatic  in  his  love. 
He  could  not  live  if  Jesus  died.  He  would  die 
with  him.  Second.  A  constitutional  tendency  to 
view  things  on  the  dark  side.  He  was  naturally 
despondent,  inclined  to  see  the  worst  side  of 
things.  Such  tendencies  are  sometimes  the  re- 
sult of  physical  causes.  They  may  be  the  result 
of  many  and  keen  disappointments.  They  may 
be  caused  by  unfavorable  surroundings,  long 
endured.  But  many  good  men  and  women  have 
such  dispositions.  Some  inherit  them.  Thomas 
did ;  it  was  characteristic  of  Thomas  that  he  took 


Intellect  165 


the  alarm  sooner  than  the  rest.  He  saw  nothing 
but  night  and  death  before  him ;  but  he  was  none 
the  less  resolved  to  go,  and  share  the  peril  of  it 
with  his  Master.  Come  what  may,  Thomas  will 
cling  to  his  Master.  Not  one  severe  word  did 
Christ  speak  to  Thomas.  And  why  should  he? 
For  where  is  there  found  a  courage  equal  to  that 
which  he  displayed?  Here  is  a  man,  naturally 
despondent,  who,  when  his  dearest  visions  and 
hopes'  are  quenched  in  darkness,  through  what 
he  can  not  but  regard  as  a  mistaken  judgment  of 
the  Master,  can  yet  make  the  grand  resolve  to 
follow  that  Master  wherever  he  may  choose  to 
go.  That  purpose  was  the  salvation  of  Thomas, 
and  not  less  than  that  in  principle  will  be  our 
salvation. 

Another  significant  utterance  of  Thomas  was 
during  the  interview  which  Christ  had  with  his 
disciples  at  the  Last  Supper.  After  speaking  of 
his  departure  as  very  near,  in  order  to  comfort 
his  disciples,  Jesus  told  them  he  was  going  to 
prepare  a  place  for  them  in  his  Father's  house, 
where  were  many  mansions.  Assuring  them  of 
his  speedy  return  to  bring  them  to  these  man- 
sions, he  said,  "Whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the 
way  ye  know."  In  much  perplexity  at  the  state- 
ment, Thomas  remarked,  ''Lord,  we  know  not 
whither  thou  goest,  and  how  can  we  know  the 
way?"     "This  utterance,"  says  Professor  Bruce, 


1 66  Individuality 


in  his  ^'Training  of  the  Twelve,"  "was  character- 
istic of  the  man  as  we  know  him  from  John's 
portraiture.  While  the  practical-minded  Peter 
asks  Jesus  where  he  is  going,  determined  to  fol- 
low him,  Thomas  does  not  think  it  worth  his 
while  to  make  any  such  inquiry.  Not  that  he  is 
unconcerned  about  the  matter.  He  would  like 
well  to  know  whither  his  Lord  is  bound ;  and,  if 
it  were  possible,  he  would  be  as  ready  as  his 
brother  disciple  to  keep  him  company.  Danger 
would  not  deter  him.  He  had  said  once  before, 
%et  us  go,  that  we  may  die  with  him,'  and  he 
could  say  the  same  thing  honestly  again;  for 
though  he  is  gloomy,  he  is  not  selfish  or  cow- 
ardly. But  just  as  on  that  earlier  occasion 
.  .  .  Thomas  took  the  darkest  view  of  the 
situation,  and  looked  on  death  as  the  certain 
fate  awaiting  them  all,  so  now  he  resigns  himself 
to  a  hopeless  mood.  .  .  .  Even  the  ques- 
tion put  by  Thomas,  *How  can  we  know  the 
way?'  is  not  so  much  a  question  as  an  apology 
for  not  asking  questions."  The  melancholy  dis- 
ciple, instead  of  seeking  light,  is  rather  in  the 
humor  to  exaggerate  the  darkness.  Thus  it  is 
always  with  even  good  men  of  melancholic  tem- 
perament. How,  where,  and  when  ?  are  the  ques- 
tions. But  how  does  Jesus  reply  to  the  sad  query 
of  Thomas?  Most  compassionately  and  sympa- 
thetically.    He  does  not  rebuke  him,  but  ex- 


Intellect  167 


plains  to  him,  "I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
Hfe;  no  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me." 
As  though  he  had  said,  "Why,  Thomas,  I  am 
going,  and  will  show  you  the  way,  and  you  shall 
come  when  I  come  again  and  receive  you  to 
myself,  that  where  I  am  you  may  be  also.  I  am 
the  way."  O,  how  gracious!  how  tender,  was 
the  way  the  Lord  instructed  Thomas ! 

The  third  utterance  of  Thomas  was  made 
when  he  met  the  disciples  after  Christ  had  risen, 
and  was  told  by  them  that  they  had  seen  the 
Lord.  He  seems  to  have  spent  the  days  suc- 
ceeding the  crucifixion  apart  from  his  fellow- 
disciples.  Hence  when  the  latter  were  assembled 
on  the  third  day — the  first  Christian  Sabbath 
evening — he  was  not  with  them.  He  was  absent, 
for  he  preferred  to  be  alone,  solitary  and  brood- 
ing. Restless,  moody,  and  disheartened,  he 
doubtless  felt  that  he  could  get  no  help  from  the 
disciples.  This  was  a  great  mistake,  for  Thomas 
lost  the  help  which  he  might  have  had  in  the 
Christian  sympathy  of  his  brethren.  They  were 
in  common  trouble.  And  as  another  has  well 
said :  *'We  know  what  it  is  to  be  unburdened,  or 
at  least  to  have  our  burdens  lightened,  by  being 
brought  into  contact  with  others  who  are  bear- 
ing similar  burdens  to  our  own.  It  is  a  spiritual 
fact,  which  has  no  counterpart  in  physics,  that 
two  men  who  bear  their  own  burdens,  when 


1 68  Individuality 


brought  shoulder  to  shoulder,  find  that  by  that 
touch  the  burden  of  each  is  lessened."  Thus 
Thomas  would  have  missed  much  from  forfeit- 
ing the  communion  of  other  sorrowful  ones,  even 
if  Christ  himself  had  not  come. 

But  the  loss  seems  to  be  multiplied  a  thou- 
sand-fold when  we  read  that  Jesus  came  when 
^'Thomas  was  not  there."  By  his  absence  on 
that  first  Sabbath  he  lost  the  special  proof  of  our 
Lord's  appearance,  which  was  given  to  those 
present.  Jesus  himself  stood  in  the  midst,  and 
said  unto  them,  "Peace  be  unto  you."  And 
when  the  disciples  were  terrified  at  the  vision, 
the  risen  Lord  offered  them  tangible  proof  to 
allay  their  doubts:  "Behold  my  hands  and  my 
feet  that  it  is  I  myself:  handle  me,  and  see;  for 
a  Spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones,  as  ye  see  me 
have."  Now,  Thomas  was  the  last  man  who 
could  afford  the  loss  of  such  direct  evidence. 

Naturally  enough,  the  first  concern  of  the  dis- 
ciples on  meeting  Thomas  was  to  tell  him  of  the 
vision ;  but  that  same  melancholy  humor  which 
caused  him  to  be  an  absentee,  made  him  also 
skeptical,  above  all  the  rest,  concerning  the  tid- 
ings of  the  resurrection.  When,  on  his  return, 
the  other  disciples  said  to  him,  "We  have  seen 
the  Lord,"  he  replied  with  vehemence,  "Except 
I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and 
put  my  fingers  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and 


Intellect  169 


thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe." 
It  is  not  temper ;  it  is  not  a  rebellious  disposition ; 
it  is  not  a  spirit  of  obstinacy;  it  is  not  a  spirit 
of  pride;  it  is  the  outcome  of  a  deep  despond- 
ency. Not  that  he  doubted  their  veracity;  but 
he  could  not  rid  himself  of  the  suspicion  that 
they  had  been  deceived.  He  wished  exact  and 
tangible  proof.  Thorwaldsen  has  carved  the 
figure  of  the  apostle  at  St.  Thomas's  Church, 
Copenhagen,  with  a  me;asuring  rule  and  a  pair 
of  compasses  in  his  hands.  TMomas  would  have 
everything  made  quite  clear  and  unmistakable. 
And  so  on  this  occasion  he  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  evidence  of  the  ten  other  apostles  and  of  the 
women;  he  was  not  sure  that  he  could  rely  on 
their  inability  to  be  misled ;  he  must  have  over- 
whelming evidence,  or  he  would  not  believe.  "It 
was  not  the  willfulness  of  one  hardened  in  his 
own  theory  which  he  would  not  quit,  nor  yet  of 
one  who  could  not  bear  to  accept  a  truth  which 
would  unsettle  his  life.  It  was  honest  doubt; 
such  doubt  as  naturally  grew  out  of  his  state  of 
mind." 

Notice  how  Christ  dealt  with  Thomas.  It  is 
impossible  to  imagine  anything  more  patient  and 
compassionate.  After  eight  days  the  Lord  ap- 
pears to  the  disciples  again,  as  they  are  gathered 
with  closed  doors,  and  Thomas  is  with  them. 
He  comes  apparently  for  the  special  benefit  of 


1 70  Individuality 


Thomas,  and  deals  with  him  according  to  his 
weakness.  If  nothing  but  material  evidence 
could  satisfy  him,  even  that  evidence  is  supplied. 
Thomas  is  singled  out,  and  the  Lord  bids  him, 
"Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands ; 
and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my 
side:  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing;"  or,  as 
some  hold  the  Greek  may  be  translated,  "Do  so, 
not  because  you  are  unbelieving,  but  that  you 
may  become  believing.'*  Jesus  speaks  as  to  a 
sincere  disciple,  whose  faith  is  weak,  not  as  to 
one  who  has  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief.  When 
demands  for  evidence  were  made  by  men  who 
merely  wanted  an  excuse  for  unbelief,  he  met 
them  in  a  very  different  manner.  "An  evil  and 
adulterous  generation,"  he  was  wont  to  say, 
"seeketh  after  a  sign ;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be 
given  them." 

This  was  not  the  way  in  which  our  Lord 
dealt  with  his  doubting  but  honest  disciple.  The 
proof  that  he  asked  for  was  given  him.  The 
mournful  tokens  of  the  Redeemer's  dying  ago- 
nies melted  the  doubting  disciple.  Touch  was 
not  thought  of  now.  Christ  was  fully  revealed ; 
and  with  wonder,  with  tender  and  exquisite 
ecstasy,  and  with  adoring  prostration  of  soul,  he 
exclaimed,  "My  Lord!  and  my  God!"  The 
gloom  is  all  gone.    The  shadows  are  past.     It 


Intellect  171 


is  all  right,  and  the  heart  is  glad.  And  then 
Jesus  speaks  again.  There  is  not  a  bit  of  re- 
proof. Thomas's  admission  has  been  genuine, 
honest.  ''Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  me, 
thou  hast  believed:  blessed  are  they  who  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  Here  is  an- 
other "beatitude"  in  addition  to  what  Matthew 
gives.  Christ  was  himself  the  ''Blessed  One," 
and  well  knew  who  were  "blessed,"  and  what 
made  them  so. 

Thomas  is  only  once  more  barely  mentioned 
in  the  Gospels,  among  those  who  went  out  with 
Peter  on  the  fishing  excursion  on  Galilee,  during 
which  they  met  with  Jesus ;  but  beyond  this,  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament  give  not  the 
least  account  of  him,  until  we  find  him  present 
with  the  other  disciples  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
Thus,  we  have  seen,  Thomas  is  a  type  of  that 
class  of  men  whose  "reflective  powers  are 
stronger  than  their  susceptive."  He  is  the  rep- 
resentative of  those  who  approach  truth  from 
the  side  of  the  intellect. 

2.  "As  Jesus  passed  forth  from  thence,  he 
saw  a  man,  named  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  re- 
ceipt of  custom :  and  he  saith  unto  him,  Follow 
me."  Thus  our  Lord  called  Matthew — the  sec- 
ond apostle  in  this  group.  And  "he  left  all,  rose 
up,  and  followed  him."     By  Mark  and  Luke  he 


172  Individuality 


is  called  Levi ;  by  himself,  Matthew,  which  latter 
name  is  adopted  by  all  three  evangelists  in  giv- 
ing the  catalogue  of  the  apostles. 

We  are  told  but  little  about  Matthew  person- 
ally. The  Gospels,  not  excepting  his  own,  re- 
cord nothing  about  him  except  his  call  and  his 
farewell  feast.  Even  the  Fathers  are  silent  as 
to  any  other  important  circumstances  of  his  life ; 
and  it  is  only  in  the  noble  record  which  he  has 
left  of  the  life  of  Christ,  in  the  Gospel  which  bears 
his  name,  that  any  monument  of  his  character 
can  be  found.  Matthew's  previous  habits  of 
mind  and  occupation  in  life  were  such  as  to  fit 
him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  the  work  of  re- 
cording facts,  dates,  places,  and  persons,  with 
precision  and  trustworthy  accuracy.  He  was 
doubtless  moved  to  undertake  the  task  of  leav- 
ing the  first  record  of  inspiration  by  the  sugges- 
tion, and  perhaps  actual  nomination  of  his  breth- 
ren— his  peculiar  talents,  and  probably  his  previ- 
ous habits  in  some  measure,  marking  him  as  the 
proper  person  to  undertake  the  task.  This  apos- 
tle undoubtedly  had  a  special  mental  fitness  for 
this  task.  As  Westcott  says:  "The  time  and 
place  at  which  he  wrote  further  impress  upon  his 
work  a  distinctive  character.  The  Hebrew 
Christians,  during  a  succession  of  fifteen  bishops, 
outwardly  observed  the  customs  of  their  fathers, 
and  for  them  he  was  inspired  to  exhibit  in  the 


Intellect  173 


teaching  of  Christ  the  antetypes  of  the  Mosaic 
law,  to  portray  that  earthly  form  and  theocratic 
glory  of  the  new  dispensation,  and  to  unfold  the 
glorious  consummation  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  faintly  typified  in  the  history  of  his  coun- ; 
trymen."  His  selection,  therefore,  showed  the. 
glorious  unworldliness  of  a  Divine  insight;  and 
Matthew  more  than  justified  it  by  turning  his 
knowledge  of  writing  to  a  sacred  use,  and  be- 
coming the  earliest  biographer  of  his  Savior  and 
Lord. 

3.  James,  the  son  of  Alphasus,  is  the  third 
apostle  in  this  group.  Beyond  the  barest  allu- 
sions to  him,  the  Gospels  take  no  notice  what- 
ever of  this  apostle ;  and  it  is  only  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  and  some  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul 
that  he  is  mentioned  with  any  great  distinctness. 
In  all  those  passages  in  the  apostolic  writings 
where  he  is  referred  to,  he  is  presented  as  a  per- 
son of  high  standing  and  great  importance ;  and 
his  opinions  are  given  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
convey  the  impression  that  they  had  great 
weight  in  the  regulation  of  the  apostolic  doings. 
This  is  particularly  evident  in  the  only  passage 
of  the  Acts  (xv,  13-21),  where  his  words  are 
given,  which  is  in  the  account  of  the  Council  at 
Jerusalem  about  the  question  of  communion  be- 
tween the  circumcised  and  uncircumcised.  On 
this  occasion,  James  is  mentioned  in  such  a  way 


174  hidividiiality 


as  to  make  it  evident  that  he  was  considered  the 
most  prominent  among  those  who  were  zealous 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Mosaic  forms,  and  to 
have  been  by  all  such  regarded  in  the  hght  of  a 
leader,  since  his  decision  seems  to  have  been 
esteemed  by  them  as  a  sort  of  law ;  and  the  per- 
fect acquiescence  of  even  the  most  troublesome 
in  the  course  which  he  recommended,  is  a  proof 
of  his  predominant  influence.  The  tone  and 
style  of  the  address  itself  also  imply  that  the 
speaker  thought  he  had  good  reason  to  believe 
that  others  were  looking  to  him  in  particular 
for  the  decision  which  should  regulate  their 
opinions  on  this  doubtful  question. 

Speaking  of  the  significance  of  that  apostolic 
decision,  Dean  Stanley  says :  "Henceforward  the 
Church  and  the  world  became  coextensive; 
other  evils  may  hinder  the  diffusion  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  not  the  limits  of  a  local  and  national 
worship;  other  restrictions  may  be  imposed  on 
the  freedom  of  the  human  race,  but  the  yoke  of 
Judaism  never ;  other  forms  may  be  assumed  by 
the  spirit  of  bigotry  and  superstition,  but  from 
its  earlier  province  it  is  utterly  expelled.  The 
most  exclusive  zealot  will  never  again  venture 
to  confine  the  privileges  of  the  true  religion  to 
a  single  nation ;  the  most  ardent  admirer  of  an- 
cient usages  and  external  forms  will  never  again 
dare  to  insist  on  the  necessity  of  circumcision." 


Intellect  175 


Thus  we  find  James  was  characterized  by  his 
intellectuality.  Paul  was  the  apostle  of  Faith; 
Peter  the  apostle  of  Hope ;  John  the  apostle  of 
Love ;  James  the  apostle  of  Wisdom. 

This  group,  then,  is  made  up  of  thoughtful 
men;  they  reason;  their  strength  is  of  an  intel- 
lectual type;  but  they  will  not  do  much  for  the 
world  apart  from  men  of  a  more  forward  and 
adventurous  spirit  than  their  own. 


XII 


Ci)e  f  ntellectual  C^pe  of 
Ctjrtfitianitj 


177 


When    I   say  that   Descartes   consecrated  doubt,  you  | 

must  remember    that    it  was   that    sort  of   doubt  which  \ 

Goethe  has  called  "  the  active  skepticism  whose  whole  aim  J 

is  to  conquer  itself;"  and  not  that  other  sort  which  is  born  ] 

of  flippancy  and  ignorance,  and  whose  aim  is  only  to  per-  ] 

petuate  itself,  as  an  excuse  for  idleness  and  indifference.  \ 

— Huxley. 
178 


€]^e  SItTtellectual  Ctpe  of  Cl^rtjstianttt 

There  are  two  classes  of  devout  minds  in  the 
world:  first,  those  who  feel  out  their  religion; 
and,  second,  those  who  think  out  their  religion. 
The  author  of  "Credo"  thus  distinguishes  be- 
tween these  two  classes :  ''Those  of  the  first  class 
never  examine  evidence,  take  no  interest  in  care- 
fully balancing  testimony.  They  are  neither  law- 
yers nor  philosophers;  they  do  not  necessarily 
receive  what  they  hear,  but  what  they  feel  to  be 
true.  Religious  truth  enters  the  hearts  of  such 
persons,  not  through  the  head,  but  direct,  as  by 
intuition.  .  .  . '  One  who  can  thus  believe  is 
'blessed'  as  no  other  on  earth.  .  .  .  But 
those  who  feel  out  their  religion  can  not  be  said, 
on  that  account,  to  be  better  men  or  more  de- 
vout ;  they  are  the  more  cheerful  Christians ;  that 
is  all.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  think  out 
their  religion  can  not  be  said,  on  that  account, 
to  be  less  faithful  or  evangelical.  As  a  rule,  they 
can  be  depended  upon  in  times  of  peril.  They 
instantly  fly  to  the  rescue  of  the  Church  when- 
ever it  is  assailed.  They  are  the  sound  theo- 
logians. They  are  the  deeply  earnest  souls  of 
the  world,  who  love  the  truth  none  the  less  be- 
cause it  is  not  seen,  but  who  navigate  the  ship 
179 


i8o  Individuality 


through  tempest,  storm,  or  night,  to  the  haven, 
believing  there  is  some  place  where  anchor  can 
be  cast  and  sails  furled." 

I.  The  Church  needs  the  intellectual  man. 
Intellectual  in  the  highest  sense  of  that  term: 
the  sense  of  keeping  one's  intellect  not  merely- 
inquisitive,  but  inquisitive  for  the  truth. 
Thoughtlessness,  and  consequently  ignorance, 
is  what  the  Lord  so  pathetically  lamented  in  his 
people  Israel.  ^'Israel  doth  not  know ;  my  people 
doth  not  consider."  Isaac  "meditated  at  even- 
tide." Joshua  was  commanded  to  "meditate  day 
and  night  in  the  statutes  of  the  I^ord."  David 
was  a  diligent  and  talented  thinker.  Paul  was 
a  splendid  type  of  the  proper  use  of  the  intellect. 
His  learning,  his  Pharisaic  training,  his  knowl- 
edge of  Greek  thought,  his  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew  language,  his  intellectual  powers, — all 
these  were  his  Master's,  because  everything  he 
had  was  his ;  and  what  a  splendid  use  he  made  of 
them! 

The  Savior  of  men  was  an  intellectual 
preacher.  He  stimulated  thought.  He  awak- 
ened curiosity.  He  startled  men  to  inquire, 
"How  can  these  things  be?"  He  excited  men 
to  grapple  with  his  words,  and  at  length  to  say, 
"Declare  unto  us  this  parable."  Men  did  not 
sit  at  their  ease  when  he  preached.  They  tested 
themselves  to  think.    God  needs  men  of  intellect. 


The  Intellectual  Type  of  Christianity    i8i 

There  are  pressing  problems  to  be  solved  in  these 
times.  Mere  impulse  can  not  solve  them ;  mere 
emotion  can  not  solve  them;  love  alone  will 
never  do  it.  ''We  need  surrendered  intellects; 
we  need  consecrated  brains;  we  need  directing 
minds  baptized  from  on  high."  Christianity 
must  be  intellectual — reflective,  thoughtful,  ra- 
tional— if  it  is  to  commend  itself  to  thinking 
men. 

This  is  an  age  of  doubt;  an  age  when  it  is 
fashionable  to  doubt;  an  age  when  men  and 
women  are  questioning  all  the  great  verities  and 
certainties  of  the  Word  of  God  and  the  unseen 
world.  Science  is  suggesting  new  objections  to 
the  Bible.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  say  that  all 
the  new  arguments  against  its  truths  are  mere 
repetitions  of  what  has  been  already  refuted ;  and 
that  errors,  like  race-horses,  are  running  around 
in  the  same  circle  which  was  run  around  in 
former  times.  The  phases  of  the  objections  are 
changed.  The  forms  of  the  replies  must  be  new. 
Many  of  these  objections,  coming  from  men  of 
science,  are  now  diffused  among  the  people.  In 
this  land  of  free  thought  and  free  speech  they 
will  have  their  influence.  This  influence  must  be 
resisted — not  by  men  who  declaim  against  these 
arguments,  but  by  men  who  reason  against  them. 
The  intellect  of  the  Church  must  understand 
these   errors,   and   meet  them   as   Greek   nicety 


1 8  2  Individuality 


Greek.  ''We  need  a  revival  of  reverence  for 
proof,"  says  Professor  Parks,  ''else  the  bowie- 
knife  will  be  employed  instead  of  proof.  We 
must  have  a  quickened  veneration  for  argument, 
else  the  revolver  will  be  substituted  for  argu- 
ment. With  us  it  is  either  the  bludgeon  or  a 
logical  faith." 

An  intellect  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and 
kindred  with  the  Divine  intellect — this  is  the 
great  need  of  these  and  of  all  times. 

2.  The  Church  needs  the  sound  theologian. 
There  are  some  rising  up  who  object  to  doctrinal 
preaching.  A  religious  sentimentalism,  vague 
and  undefined  as  it  is  spiritually  and  morally 
weakening,  has  usurped  the  place  of  a  sound 
doctrinal  faith ;  and  men  boast  that  they  do  not 
believe  this  and  that  and  the  other  doctrinal  ex- 
pression of  truth.  Not  merely  is  doctrinal  truth 
ignored,  but  issue  is  taken  against  it.  Creeds 
and  articles  of  faith  are  held  up  as  fetters  of  the 
intellect,  trammels  of  free  thought.  Christian 
doctrine  is  considered  antiquated.  Its  preach- 
ing, we  are  told,  belonged  to  an  earlier  age  and 
less  cultured  people,  but  has  now  become  effete 
and  worthless.  Nor  do  these  men  stop  even 
here,  but  boldly  proclaim  that  "in  order  to  re- 
ligious progress  intellectual  creeds  must  be  de- 
stroyed." 

Now,  this  no-doctrine  craze  is  one  of  the 


The  Intellectual  Type  of  Christianity     183 

blindest  of  delusions.  You  might  as  well  look 
for  wheat  to  grow  out  of  a  rock-pile,  as  for  any 
life  worthy  the  name  that  is  not  rooted  in  good, 
wholesome  doctrine.  A  life  without  doctrine  is 
an  untaught  life,  a  life  without  clear  and  endur- 
ing conviction,  without  high  moral  purpose. 
Every  attitude  we  avow  on  any  question  worthy 
of  us  should  express  an  inward  and  spiritual  con- 
viction. Where  the  doctrine  is  wrong,  the  life  is 
never  right.  Beautifully  has  it  been  said,  "The 
way  to  the  largest  usefulness,  and  to  the  white 
gate  when  we  put  our  staff  in  the  corner,  is  by 
the  way  of  sound  Scripture  doctrine." 

If  we  take  away  the  doctrine,  we  have  taken 
away  the  backbone  of  Christianity — its  sinew, 
muscle,  strength,  and  glory.  The  doctrines  of 
Christianity  are  to  the  intellect  what  the  atmos- 
phere is  to  the  lungs.  One  might  as  safely  tie 
up  one  lobe  of  his  lungs,  as  shut  out  any  one 
doctrine  from  his  mind.  The  soul  breathes  the 
more  freely  when  all  its  powers  inhale  all  the 
truths  of  which  it  is  said,  "they  are  spirit;  they 
are  life."  If  these  truths  are  not  in  some  way 
received  by  the  intellect,  they  are  not  in  any  way 
accepted  by  the  will.  The  mind  is  the  door  of 
the  heart.  It  is  the  human  logos.  It  is  thought 
which  elicits  feeling;  strong  thought  elicits 
strong  feeling.  Faith  is  not  credulity.  It  is  nur- 
tured   by    evidence.      Religious    emotion,    not 


184  Individuality 


called  forth  by  doctrine  nor  corresponding  with 
it,  is  fanaticism. 

We  read  in  Acts  ii,  42,  "And  they  continued 
steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship, and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers." 
There  was  a  doctrinal  basis.  They  were  stead- 
fast in  the  apostles'  doctrine.  They  had  a  creed, 
and  were  not  ashamed  of  it.  We  are  told  that 
Christianity  is  not  dogma,  but  life.  It  is  both, 
and  to  say  that  it  is  either  at  the  expense  of  the 
other  is  to  antagonize  the  clear  teaching  of 
Scripture.  Christianity  is  neither  dogma  nor 
life;  "it  is  life  founded  on  dogma;  it  is  ethics 
growing  out  of  truth;  it  is  creed  flowering  into 
conduct."  The  fact  is,  faith  discerns  in  dogma 
the  regulation  of  its  thought,  just  as  the  mathe- 
matician finds  in  the  axioms  which  are  the  base 
of  his  science  the  fixed  principles  which  guide 
his  onward  progress,  not  the  tyrannical  obstacle 
which  enthralls  and  checks  him.  If  religion  is  to 
be  a  practical  thing,  it  must  depend,  not  on  beau- 
tiful thoughts,  but  upon  clearly-defined  certain- 
ties. When  tempted,  wx  need  something  solid 
to  fall  back  upon ;  not  a  picture,  not  a  mist,  not  a 
view,  not  an  hypothesis,  but  a  fact. 

The  Church  needs  men  mighty  in  doctrine — ■ 
men  capable  of  "holding  fast  the  form  of  sound 
words."  This  is  not  the  time  for  us  to  be  done 
with  creeds.     A  sound  Christian  indoctrination 


The  Intellectital  Type  of  Christianity     185 

is   not  a  mere   empty   theory,   but   a  practical 
utility. 

3.  There  is  need  of  the  critical  habit.  Thomas 
is  the  type  of  that  class  of  men,  of  whom  Robert- 
son, of  Brighton,  speaks:  "Often  highly  gifted 
and  powerful  minds,  they  can  not  rest  till  they 
have  made  all  their  ground  certain ;  they  do  not 
feel  safe  so  long  as  there  is  one  possibility  of 
delusion  left:  they  prove  all  things.  .  .  . 
When  such  men  do  believe,  it  is  belief  with  all 
the  heart  and  soul  for  life.  When  a  subject  has 
been  once  thoroughly  and  suspiciously  investi- 
gated and  settled  once  for  all,  the  adherence  of 
the  whole  reasoning  man,  if  given  in  at  all,  is 
given  frankly  and  heartily  as  Thomas  gave  it, 
'My  Lord,  and  my  God.'  "  And  such  testimony 
can  not  be  overestimated.  The  Divinity  of 
Christ  is  one  of  the  foundation  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity. Unless  our  Lord  be  very  God  of  very 
God,  there  is  an  end  of  his  mediation,  his  atone- 
ment, his  advocacy,  his  priesthood,  his  whole 
work  of  redemption.  These  doctrines  are  useless 
blasphemies,  unless  Christ  is  Divine.  Let  us 
bless  God,  then,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Divinity 
of  our  Lord  stands  on  evidence  that  can  never 
be  overthrown.  The  fact  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion is  the  corner-stone  of  that  doctrine.  We 
have  but  to  read  tlTe  matchless  fifteenth  chapter 
of  First   Corinthians  to  be  convinced  of  that. 


1 86  Individuality 


Evidence  is  worth  little  if  it  is  the  evidence  of 
credulity.  But  here  was  a  man  who  dreaded  the 
possibility  of  delusion,  however  credulous  the 
others  might  be.  He  resolved  beforehand  that 
only  one  proof  should  be  decisive.  The  evidence 
of  testimony  which  he  did  reject  was  very  strong, 
but  he  held  out  against  it.  He  would  trust  a 
thing  so  infinitely  important  to  nothing  but  his 
own  scrutinizing  hand. 

Renan,  in  that  fiction  which  he  calls  "The  Life 
of  Jesus,"  when  he  treats  of  the  resurrection  of 
our  Lord,  breaks  out  into  a  rhapsody  utterly 
unworthy  of  the  critic  and  historian,  *'0,  Divine 
power  of  love !  sacred  moments  when  the  pas- 
sion of  a  deluded  woman  gives  to  the  world  a 
God  raised  from  the  dead."  But  Renan  must 
have  forgotten  Thomas's  testimony.  It  was  not 
all  the  ''passion  of  a  deluded  woman."  The 
Church  is  prepared  to  prove  that  our  Lord's 
resurrection  is  one  of  the  best  authenticated  facts 
in  the  world's  history;  and  among  all  the  proofs 
at  hand,  none  is  more  convincing  than  the  testi- 
mony of  Thomas.  Baxter  records  it  as  his  ex- 
perience, that  nothing  is  so  firmly  believed  as 
that  which  has  once  been  doubted.  It  is  the 
critical  habit  that  lends  a  special  value  to  the 
testimony  borne  by  Thomas,  not  merely  to  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord  or  his  Divinity,  but  to 
the  whole  system  of  the  Christian  religion.     As 


The  Intellectual  Type  of  Christianity     187 

Augustine  or  some  other  of  the  Fathers  has  it, 
"Thomas  doubted,  that  we  might  beUeve;"  the 
claims  he  so  scrupulously  weighed  may  be  al- 
lowed by  us  to  pass  with  the  less  hesitation ;  and 
whatever  pain  the  examination  cost  him,  we  are 
the  gainers  in  the  greater  ease  of  accepting  a 
record  bearing  his  indorsement.  It  was  not 
much  to  the  credit  of  Thomas,  perhaps,  that  he 
made  faith  wait  on  demonstration ;  yet  we  would 
not  have  that  record  blotted  out  from  the  Bible. 
''It  was  not  to  the  credit  of  the  Biblical  critics 
of  the  past  century  that  they  called  in  question 
the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the  four 
Gospels;  yet,  because  of  this  doubt,  a  vast 
amount  of  evidence  has  been  accumulated,  which 
has  established  the  Christian  faith  more  firmly 
than  otherwise  possible  in  the  minds  of  thinking 
men." 

Scripture  itself  teaches  us  to  prove  all  things, 
but  to  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  Some  writer 
has  said :  ''A  merely  speculative  skepticism  that 
entertains  questions  politely  for  a  few  hours, 
simply  for  intellectual  interest;  that  puts  the 
Christian  religion  among  the  things  waiting  for 
a  far-off  day  of  settlement,  is  a  most  injurious 
habit.  All  deep  earnestness  is  against  it,  and  all 
high  living,  and  all  Holy  Scripture,  and  the 
whole  mind  and  heart  of  Christ."  Curiosity  is 
often  reprehensible.     It  is  the  fault  of  many  to 


1 88  Individttality 


wish  to  pry  into  matters  which  they  had  much 
better  never  known.  But  there  is  one  direction 
in  which  inquiry  is  never  out  of  place.  We  can 
never  be  too  anxious  to  know  about  Christ,  the 
reasons  of  his  movements,  and  the  explanations 
of  his  doings,  (i  Peter  i,  10-12.)  Here  anxious 
interest  and  casting  about  for  light  are  not  only 
legitimate,  but  necessary  to  our  proper  instruc- 
tion, comfort,  and  salvation.     (James  i,  5.) 

Thomas  was  an  earnest  man.  Take  all  the 
verses  that  relate  to  Thomas;  they  bring  before 
us  very  different  mental  states — deep  depression, 
rejoicing,  confidence;  but  they  all  presuppose 
a  spiritual  concernedness  about  himself,  his  duty, 
and  his  Lyord.  And  what  hope  can  there  be  for 
a  creature  like  man,  intellectual,  spiritual,  re- 
sponsible, if  he  will  not  think?  You  can  do  noth- 
ing with  a  man  who  is  not  earnest ;  but  you  may 
do  much  with  an  earnest  man,  though  a  doubter. 
Christianity  fears  nothing  from  an  earnest,  sin- 
cere, critical  habit.  Be  not  afraid  to  investigate. 
Let  the  mind  go  forth  continually  in  search  of 
facts.  Knock  at  the  door  of  every  phenomenon ; 
press  against  the  door  until  the  fastenings  of  it 
yield  to  your  pleasure,  and,  passing  in,  you  stand 
eye  to  eye  in  the  presence  of  the  long-pent  mys- 
tery. ^'Wherever  there  is  darkness,  creep  into 
it ;  and  when  you  have  entered  within  its  gloom, 
kindle  the  torch  of  investigation,  and  look  around 


The  Intellectual  Type  of  Christianity     189 

you  to  discover  the  hidden  wonder."  Explora- 
tions, spiritually,  are  forever  in  order.  The  one 
condition  laid  down  is  this:  an  attitude  of  rever- 
ence toward  God.  Having  this,  there  is  only  one 
great  need ;  and  this  we  need  beyond  everything 
else :  it  is  the  love  of  the  truth.  St.  Augustine, 
the  greatest  of  those  who  are  called  Fathers  of 
the  Church,  the  champion  of  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  has  left  this  saying  respecting  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. He  is  speaking  of  it  as  the  water  of  life, 
and  he  observes  that  it  has  its  First  Draught,  it 
has  its  Second  Draught,  and  it  has  also  its  Third 
Draught.  The  Church  has  nothing  to  fear  from 
the  men  of  intellect  who  drink  deep  from  the 
Scripture  well. 


XIII 

Cije  temptations  of  f  ntellect 


191 


No  one  who  knows  the  content  of  Christianity,  or  feels 
the  universal  need  of  a  religion,  can  stand  idly  by  while 
the  intellect  of  his  age  is  slowly  divorcing  itself  from  it. 

— Henry  Drummond. 

I  feel  constrained  to  think  the  profoundest  speculative 
thoughts,  and  they  are  to  me  identical  with  the  deepest 
religious  feelings.  —Schleiermacher. 


Cl^e  CemptatfonjJ  of  Sintellect 

The  intellectual  type  of  Christianity  has  its 
characteristic  temptations  and  dangers.  The 
mere  mention  of  these  should  be  sufficient  appeal 
to  conscience. 

I.  Melancholy.  "Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may 
die  with  him,"  said  Thomas.  Thomas  threw 
himself  on  the  dark  conclusion  that  all  was  over, 
and  that  nothing  now  was  left  them  but  to  die. 
This  feeling  leads  to  the  most  dismal  apathy. 
After  Christ's  death,  Thomas  wanted  no  com- 
panions but  his  own  dismal  thoughts,  and  there- 
fore he  would  not  go  to  the  first  meeting  of  the 
apostles.  "I  will  not  be  taken  in  again;  I  will 
not  love  any  more,"  said  poor  Southey  when  his 
child  died.    So  in  spirit  said  Thomas. 

This  is  a  dangerous  temptation — a  refined, 
not  a  gross  temptation  of  the  adversary.  "A 
more  than  ordinary  depth  of  thought,"  says 
Jacob  Behmen,  "produces  this  temperament." 
Let  a  more  than  ordinary  depth  of  thought  be 
found  in  any  man,  and  that  man's  mind  will  natu- 
rally and  necessarily  move  among  the  mysteries 
of  human  life,  till,  as  sure  as  shadow  follows  sub- 
stance, that  man  is  a  melancholy  man.  "And 
thus  it  is  "  says  Dr.  Alexander  Whyte,  in  his 
13  193 


194  Individuality 


''Four  Temperaments,"  "that  when,  either  in 
life  or  in  Hterature,  you  meet  with  a  man  of  an 
extraordinary  depth  of  thought,  you  will  see 
shafts  of  sadness  and  chasms  of  melancholy  sink- 
ing down  into  that  man's  mind  and  heart  and 
character — clefts  and  chasms  that  will  offend,  ex- 
asperate, and  scare  away  all  light-minded  and 
shallow-hearted  onlookers." 

Blaise  Pascal,  Dante,  Cromwell,  Johnson,  and 
Cowper  are  examples  of  this  melancholy  into 
which  truly  great  minds  are  liable  to  sink.  John 
Foster,  a  man  of  profound  depth  of  thought, 
writes  to  one  of  his  most  thoughtful  correspond- 
ents: ''Everything  that  interests  my  heart  leads 
me  into  this  mingled  emotion  of  melancholy  and 
sublime.  I  have  lost  all  taste  for  the  light  and 
the  gay;  rather,  I  never  had  any  such  taste.  I 
turn  disgusted  and  contemptuous  from  insipid 
and  shallow  folly,  to  lave  in  the  tide,  the  stream 
of  deeper  sentiments.  I  have  criminally  neg- 
lected regular,  studious  thinking  for  many  years. 
My  greatest  defects  are  in  regard  to  religion,  on 
which  subject,  as  it  respects  myself,  I  want  to 
have  a  profound  and  solemn  investigation,  which 
I  foresee  must  be  mingled  with  a  great  deal  of 
painful  and  repentant  feeling.  What  a  serious 
task  it  is  to  confront  one's  self  with  faithful  truth, 
and  to  see  one's  self  by  a  light  that  will  not 


flatter!    At  the  last  tribunal  no  one  will  regret 


The  Teniptatio7is  of  Intellect  195 

having  been  a  habitual  and  rigorous  judge  of 
self." 

Are  you  a  person  subject  to  this  form  of  temp- 
tation? If  consecration  is  to  be  a  reality  any- 
where, surely  it  should  be  here.  If  the  very 
strength  of  your  intellect  has  been  your  weak- 
ness, will  you  not  entreat  Him  to  keep  it  hence- 
forth really  and  entirely  for  Himself?  Richard 
Cecil's  remedy  for  despondency — that  of  doing 
good  to  somebody — is  one  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion. He  went  to  preach  at  Bedford  Road 
Chapel,  London,  and  one  day  a  person  came  up 
to  him  about  a  certain  lady,  a  great  professor  of 
religion.  He  represented  that  she  was  quite  out 
of  spirits,  unhappy  and  miserable,  and  that  Mr. 
Cecil  ought  to  go  and  try  and  do  her  some  good. 
He  went  to  the  lady,  and  found  her  sitting  by 
the  fire,  with  her  feet  on  the  fender,  and  looking 
very  miserable,  with  a  great  shawl  on  her  back, 
while  the  sun  was  shining  in  at  the  window.  She 
asked  Mr.  Cecil  to  sit  down ;  but  he  said :  "I  will 
not  sit  down;  I  know  what  is  the  matter.  Get 
up,  put  on  your  bonnet,  and  go  out  and  try  and 
do  some  good.  Within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
this  very  house  there  are  people  dying  and  per- 
sons that  want  help.  Go  out  and  do  something, 
and  try  and  do  good  in  the  world."  She  took 
his  advice,  and  went  out  and  tried  to  do  some 
good,  and  when  he  called  on  her  two  or  three 


196  Individuality 


weeks  after,  he  found  her  quite  an  altered  per- 
son. Her  voice  was  altered,  she  looked  cheerful 
and  happy,  and  her  low  spirits  were  all  gone. 
She  said,  ''O,  Mr.  Cecil,  you  could  not  have  done 
me  a  greater  favor  than  ask  me  to  try  and  do 
some  good." 

2.  Mere  intellectualism.  There  is  a  certain 
tendency  to  arrogance  among  the  gifted  intel- 
lectually; the  disposition  to  find  a  certain  satis- 
faction or  pride  in  one's  intellectual  gifts  or  con- 
clusions, which  may  lead  him  far  astray.  To  men 
who  can  elaborate  a  theory,  and  make  an  impos- 
ing display  of  argumentation,  added  to  a  fertile 
invention  and  fluent  expression,  the  indulgence 
of  a  well-regulated  conceit  of  superior  intellect 
is  a  luxury  which  they  can  not  forego  on  any 
consideration.  It  is  an  enjoyment  beyond  all 
price.  This  is  especially  perceptible  in  a  mind 
that  is  clear  and  logical.  The  temptation  is 
strong  to  idolize  one's  own  judgment.  Perhaps 
Thomas  accounted  as  a  virtue  that  critical  tem- 
per which  was  his  greatest  danger.  When  any 
man  begins  to  think  far  more  of  the  touch  of  his 
ten  fingers  than  of  the  testimony  of  ten  apostles, 
self-reliance  is  apt  to  become  conceit.  Lovell 
draws  an  important  distinction  just  here,  which 
every  man  of  an  intellectual  type  should  heed: 
"There  is  a  love  born  of  mere  touch,  and  there 
is  a  love  that  death  and  loss  can  never  touch. 


The  TefHpiations  of  Intellect  197 

There  is  a  love  dependent  on  circumstances,  and 
there  is  a  love  that  defies  storm  and  cloud  and 
death.  If  Thomas  have  the  one,  and  John  the 
other,  all  we  ask  is  that  Thomas  know  his  con- 
dition, and  not  so  readily  assert  his  superior 
judgment.  If  a  man  of  ordinary  prudence  gets 
to  know  that  his  weak  heart  says  to  him,  'Never 
hurry,'  or  that  another  organ  says,  'Never  eat 
certain  things;'  so  let  us  know  if  our  condition 
disqualifies  us  for  judgment,  and  let  us  trust 
others  and  act  with  them,  rather  than  argue  and 
oppose.  Most  of  the  skeptics  I  have  met  in  Hfe 
were  like  Thomas — all  disqualified  for  their  work 
before  they  began  it." 

The  temptation  to  argue  is  strong  with  the 
men  of  this  type.  But  as  long  as  we  are  reason- 
ing and  arguing  about  a  promise,  we  never  know 
its  reality.  It  is  not  God's  way.  ''It  is  the  hum- 
ble who  hear  thereof,  and  are  glad."  Have  we 
not  found  it  so?  Did  we  ever  receive  the  power- 
ful fulfillment  of  any  promise  so  long  as  we 
argued  and  reasoned,  whether  with  our  own 
hearts  or  with  others,  and  said,  "How  can  these 
things  be?"  Has  it  not  always  been,  that  we  had 
to  lay  down  our  arms  and  accept  God's  thought 
and  God's  way  instead  of  our  own  ideas,  and  be 
wilHng  that  he  should  "speak  the  word  only," 
and  believe  it  as  little  children  believe  our 
promises? 


198  Individuality 


Superior  intellectual  gifts  too  often  lead  to 
mere  speculation.  There  is  a  strong  tendency  to 
a  certain  intellectual  destructiveness.  "Christ," 
says  Legh  Richmond,  "may  be  crucified  be- 
tween classics  and  mathematics."  While  a  min- 
ister was  riding  in  a  railway  carriage  he  was 
saluted  by  a  member  of  an  exceedingly  quarrel- 
some and  speculative  sect.  "Pray,  sir,"  said  the 
sectary,  "what  is  your  opinion  of  the  seven 
trumpets?"  "I  am  not  sure,"  said  the  preacher, 
"that  I  understand  your  question;  but  I  hope 
you  will  comprehend  mine.  What  think  you  of 
the  fact  that  your  seven  children  are  growing  up 
without  God — without  hope?  You  have  a 
Bible-reading  in  your  house  for  your  neighbors, 
to  discuss  these  speculative  questions,  but  no 
family  prayer  for  your  children."  The  nail  was 
fastened  in  a  sure  place ;  enough  candor  of  mind 
remained  in  the  professor  to  enable  him  to  profit 
by  the  timely  rebuke. 

Furthermore,  the  temptation  to  argue  leads 
to  a  certain  harsh  and  arrogant  tone,  which  shows 
itself  in  debate,  no  matter  on  which  side  of  a 
controversy  one  stands.  It  is  perhaps  one  of  the 
commonest  temptations  of  those  who  are  much 
versed  in  theology  to  forget  the  necessity  of 
allowing  for  those  who  dififer  from  them.  They 
put  that  first  which  should  be  second.  The  first 
and  indispensable  care  for  every  Christian  and 


The  Te77iptatioiis  of  Intellect  199 

every  Christian  body  is  the  spirit  of  love.  No 
difference  of  belief  can  be  truly  conscientious 
unless  it  be  subordinated  to  the  spirit  of  love. 
"If  you  are  a  Christian,"  says  one,  ''you  must 
love  me  before  you  can  conscientiously  differ 
from  me."  The  apostle  Paul,  in  his  letter  to  the 
Romans,  cautions  against  "doubtful  disputa- 
tions." When  men  dispute,  they  jostle  for  the 
way,  and  so  one  or  both  must  needs  leave  the 
path  of  truth  and  peace. 

Again,  men  of  this  type  are  tempted  too  com- 
monly to  believe  that  Christianity  consists  in  the 
intellectual  acceptance  of  mere  dogmas.  But 
this  is  so  far  from  being  the  case  that,  as  John 
Wesley  said  in  his  strong  and  striking  way  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  "A  man  may  be  as 
orthodox  as  the  devil,  and  as  wicked."  No  man 
ever  becomes  a  Christian  simply  by  accepting 
the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion.  He  may 
have  a  deep  conviction,  and  yet  be  without  any 
vivid  realization  of  what  he  believes.  Such  men 
often  make  sticklers  for  doctrine;  an  iron  con- 
science rivets  them  to  their  creed.  The  Divinity 
of  Christ  is  the  center  of  their  theology;  total 
depravity,  the  fundamental  fact  in  their  psychol- 
ogy; the  atonement,  the  ultimate  reach  of  their 
moral  philosophy.  This  is  right  so  far  as  It  goes. 
But  they  seem  devoid  of  all  appreciation  of  the 
practical  importance  of  these  great  truths.    They 


200  Individuality 


would  die  for  the  faith,  as  upon  some  unknown 
altar  to  which  they  were  tied  by  the  cords  of 
their  own  conscientiousness.  To  them  the  doc- 
trines of  Scripture  are  as  true  as  the  propositions 
of  Euclid,  and  analogous  to  them  as  statements 
of  certain  abstract  principles  upon  which  the 
moral  and  spiritual  worlds  are  erected.  But  to 
such,  Christianity  is  a  mere  intellectual  creed. 
And  no  man  has  a  right  to  suppose  that  he  is  a 
Christian  because  he  is  a  theologian ;  or  that  he 
knows  anything  about  Divine  pity  because  he  is 
skilled  in  the  controversy  of  words.  This  is  the 
position  about  which  we  need  to  be  most  anx- 
iously jealous. 

"It  has  become  so  common,"  says  Joseph 
Parker,  "to  think  that  a  creed,  merely  as  such — 
an  enumerated  and  regulated  act  of  beliefs — can 
save  the  world.  All  these  we  may  need,  every 
one  of  them  may  be  of  great  importance;  but 
until  our  creed  becomes  our  faith;  until  it  is 
taken  into  the  heart  and  reproduced  in  the  life 
by  loving  sacrifice,  daily  seasoned  with  salt,  con- 
tinually ablaze  to  the  heavens,  it  is  a  creed  only 
which  a  parrot  might  repeat — not  an  inspiration 
which  an  angel  might  covet.  Hence  we  come  to 
have  mechanical  orthodoxies,  hence  we  add  to 
the  profanity  of  a  lifetime  the  audacity  which 
can  sentence  men  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the 
left  in  proportion  as  they  read  our  books  and 


The  Temptations  of  Intellect  201 

adopt  our  lines  and  our  formal  positions."  But 
Christianity  is  a  state  of  the  heart,  a  condition 
of  the  soul  before  God,  a  continual  penitence,  a 
continual  faith,  a  continual  service. 

There  is  a  well-authenticated  tradition  of  a 
famous  argument  between  that  great  scholar 
and  divine,  Bishop  Horsley,  and  Dr.  Cyril  Jack- 
son, dean  of  Christ  Church.  They  sat  late  into 
the  night  debating  the  question  whether  God 
could  be  better  reached  through  the  exercise  of 
the  intellect,  or  through  the  exercise  of  the  affec- 
tion. Unwillingly,  but  step  by  step,  the  bishop, 
who  advocated  the  claims  of  the  intellect,  re- 
treated before  the  arguments  of  his  friend,  till 
at  length,  in  a  spirit  wdiich  did  no  less  honor  to 
his  humility  than  to  his  candor,  he  exclaimed, 
"Then  my  whole  life  has  been  one  great  mis- 
take!" Certainly  that  conclusion  had  been  al- 
ready anticipated  by  St.  Paul. 

3.  Doubt.  How  true  these  words  of  T.  T. 
Munger:  "Doubt  is  indeed  a  thorn  that  pierces 
deep.  To  have  a  mind  made  to  know  God,  and 
yet  not  be  able  to  find  him ;  to  hunger  after  the 
truth,  and  yet  not  be  sure  of  truth ;  to  have  eyes 
that  rejoice  in  the  light,  and  yet  catch  only 
glimpses, — this  is  well-nigh  the  keenest  suffering 
a  true  man  can  feel." 

There  is  a  wide  difference  between  doubt  and 
unbelief,  although  often  confounded  together. 


202  Individuality 


The  skeptic  doubts,  and  looks  into  the  matter; 
the  unbeliever  rejects  altogether,  too  often  with- 
out inquiring  (Acts  xvii,  32),  and  frequently  on 
moral  grounds  (John  iii,  19).  "Christ,"  says 
Professor  Drummond,  "never  failed  to  distin- 
guish between  doubt  and  unbelief.  Doubt  is 
canH  believe;  unbelief  is  wonH  believe.  Doubt  is 
honesty;  unbelief  is  obstinacy.  Doubt  is  look- 
ing for  light ;  unbelief  is  content  with  darkness. 
Loving  darkness  rather  than  light — that  is  what 
Christ  attacked,  and  attacked  unsparingly.  But 
for  the  intellectual  questioning  of  Thomas  and 
Philip  and  Nicodemus,  and  the  many  others 
who  came  to  him  to  have  their  great  problems 
solved,  he  was  respectful  and  generous  and  tol- 
erant." 

Instead  of  looking  on  doubt,  then,  as  an  evil 
which  threatens  religion  itself,  Christianity,  as 
well  as  philosophy,  teaches  us  to  see  in  it  the 
means  for  higher  attainments.  It  is  not  to  be 
mourned  over,  but  to  be  studied,  used,  and  mas- 
tered. Not  doubt  itself  is  a  curse,  but  the  dis- 
eases often  connected  with  it  make  it  fatal  to 
the  religious  life.  The  danger  lies  in  the  fact 
that  doubt  indulged,  soon  becomes  doubt  re- 
alized. Skepticism  may  end  in  unbelief;  it  is 
therefore  a  dangerous  spirit. 

When  doubt  ends  in  what  is  called  Rational- 
ism, it  has  in  it  the  leaven  of  infidelity.     By 


The  Temptations  of  Intellect  203 

Rationalism  is  presumptuously  meant  making 
the  Scriptures  reasonable;  not  submitting  rea- 
son to  the  Bible,  but  submitting  the  Bible  to 
reason.  ''This  system — if  such  it  can  be  called — 
aims  at  divesting  revelation  of  all  mystery,  and 
explaining  away  on  natural  principles  all  its 
miracles;  leaving  nothing  behind  save  a  naked, 
ordinary  history  of  naked,  ordinary  facts.  Whilst 
thus  it  admits  the  general  historical  authenticity 
of  the  Bible,  it  strives  to  strip  it  of  all  that  pre- 
eminently constitutes  its  revelation.  For  if  the 
Bible  were  merely  a  chronicle  of  certain  natural 
events  cognizable,  or  even  a  record  of  certain 
doctrines  discerned  or  discoverable  by  the  hu- 
man mind;  if  there  were  nothing  in  its  pages 
transcending  alike  the  grasp  and  the  researches 
of  reason,  nothing  that  demanded  the  direct  in- 
terposition and  manifestation  of  the  Deity,  then 
assuredly  the  volume  would  lack  all  that  essen- 
tially designates  and  characterizes  it  as  the  Word 
of  the  living  God.  We  glory  in  the  mysteries 
of  Revelation.  Had  it  no  mysteries,  we  could 
hardly  receive  it  as  Divine.  For  can  the  Infinite 
reveal  himself  to  the  finite  so  as  not  to  be  past 
finding  out?  The  sounding-line  of  human  rea- 
son can  never  gauge  the  depths  of  Deity."  The 
life,  the  power  of  that  Gospel  which  is  "the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation,"  lies  in  its  mys- 
teries.    "Without  controversy,  great  is  the  mys- 


204  Individuality 


tery  of  godliness."  We  glory  in  its  greatness;  for 
it  is  not  a  little  mystery  that  could  involve  the 
reconciliation  of  the  Infinite  God  to  sinners  of 
the  human  race. 

Much  as  our  times  are  to  be  praised  for  their 
stores  of  learning  and  the  power  and  freedom 
of  their  thought,  yet  we  need  to  guard  against 
building  up  the  intellect  at  the  expense  of  the 
heart — making  us  all  skeptics  or  thinkers  rather 
than  tender-hearted  children  gathering  in  filial 
love  at  the  feet  of  our  God.  That  development 
of  intellect  that  shall  make  the  study  of  science 
displace  the  meditations  of  religion,  that  shall 
make  the  learning  of  men  read  more  sweetly 
than  the  pleadings  and  prayers  of  Jesus,  is  a 
mental  education  that  may  well  be  feared  as  a 
fatal  enemy.  If  an  educated  man  is  a  broad  man, 
he  must  be  broad  in  his  soul  as  well  as  in  his 
intellect.  Not  only  is  there  vast  art  in  the  world, 
and  vast  learning  and  progress,  but  here,  too, 
as  a  Latin  poet  says,  ''are  the  tears  of  things;" 
and  in  the  words  of  a  noted  divine,  "Empty  will 
be  the  mission  of  learning  and  more  penetrating 
thought,  unless  it  shall  render  Christian  experi- 
ence more  silent,  indeed,  only  because  deeper; 
unless  it  undermine  egotism,  all  the  forms  of 
self-glorying,  and  shall  bring  us  as  little  children 
into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Here  is  where  we  may  behold  the  symmetry 


The  Temptatio7is  of  hitellect  205 

and  beauty  and  greatness  of  Paul.  Though  the 
learning  of  Greece  and  Alexandria  and  of  the 
East  lay  within  his  mind,  and  lifted  him  up  to 
the  calmest  heights,  yet  the  fountains  of  his 
emotions  were  neither  frozen  nor  dried,  but  his 
tears  mingled  with  his  philosophy.  In  the  Book 
of  Acts  he  was  "serving  the  Lord  with  many 
tears,"  and  ''ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  with 
tears;"  and  in  Corinthians  he  says,  "I  wrote  to 
you  with  many  tears,"  thus  reminding  us  that 
in  every  truly  grand  character  there  must  be 
conceptions  of  truth  so  clear  and  so  precious 
that  under  their  influence  the  heart  moves  as  the 
sea  in  storm.  Paul's  great  brain  grasped  the  is- 
sues of  life  and  death,  and  to  this  march  of  intel- 
ligence his  great  heart  responded  and  wept. 

Few  axioms  are  wiser  than  that  admirable 
one  of  Dr.  Deems:  "Believe  your  beliefs,  and 
doubt  your  doubts.  Do  not  make  the  common 
mistake  of  skeptics,  doubting  your  beliefs  and 
believing  your  doubts."  Or,  as  Goethe  says, 
"Give  us  your  convictions;  as  for  doubts,  we 
have  enough  of  them  already." 

A  theological  student  once  called  on  Dr. 
Archibald  Alexander  in  great  distress  of  mind, 
doubting  whether  he  had  been  converted.  The 
Doctor  said:  "My  young  brother,  you  know 
what  repentance  is,  what  faith  in  Christ  is.  You 
think  you  once  repented,   and  once  believed. 


2o6  Individuality 


Now,  do  n't  fight  your  doubts ;  go  all  over  it 
again ;  repent  now,  believe  in  Christ  now ;  that 's 
the  way  to  have  a  consciousness  of  acceptance 
with  God.  I  have  to  do  both  very  often.  Go 
to  your  room,  and  give  yourself  to  Christ  this 
very  moment,  and  let  doubts  go.  If  you  have 
not  been  his  disciple,  be  one  now.  Do  n't  fight 
the  devil  on  his  own  ground.  Choose  the 
ground  of  Christ's  own  righteousness  and  atone- 
ment, and  then  fight  him."  That  was  good  ad- 
vice. Do  not  exercise  your  doubts.  Exercise 
your  faith.    Doubt  is  weakness;  faith  is  power. 


XIV 

§)ptrit=jriUeti  f  ntellect 


207 


Where  thought  and  love  are  active — thought  the 
formative  power,  love  the  vitalizing — there  can  be  no  sad- 
ness. They  are  in  themselves  a  more  intense  and  extended 
participation  of  a  divine  existence.  As  they  grow,  the 
highest  species  of  faith  grows  too,  and  all  things  are 
possible.  — George  Eliot. 

TfA 


^pititmitti  %nmuct 

The  apostles  were  many-natured.  But  upon 
each  came  the  pentecostal  fullness.  The  tongue 
of  fire  "sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were 
all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to 
speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave 
them  utterance."  This  is  true  of  the  men  of  this 
group,  no  less  than  of  Peter  and  John.  The  en- 
duement  of  power  fell  upon  all,  and  spiritual 
gifts  were  imparted  to  all;  not  equally;  for  the 
expression,  "As  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance," 
seems  to  indicate  a  diversity  of  gifts.  While 
upon  Peter  the  Holy  Spirit  rested  as  the  power 
by  which  Christianity  is  extended,  and  upon 
John  as  the  substitute  for  Jesus,  who  takes  of 
the  deep  things  of  Christ,  and  shows  them  unto 
us,  upon  the  men  of  this  group  he  descends  as 
the  intellectual  atmosphere  in  which  the 
Church's  thinking  was  to  develop. 

Dr.  Daniel  Steele,  in  "Love  Enthroned," 
says :  "Some  are  designed  by  nature  to  be,  when 
surcharged  with  the  Spirit,  like  galvanic  bat- 
teries of  a  thousand-cup  power,  electrifying  vast 
multitudes  with  the  shock  of  saving  gospel 
truth;  while  others,  endowed  constitutionally 
with  a  smaller  capacity  for  the  exercise  of  im- 
14  209 


2 1  o  Individuality 


mediate  suasive  influence,  are  more  largely 
gifted  in  the  direction  of  a  well-balanced  intel- 
lect, adapted  to  instruct  and  edify  believers — 
the  chief  function  of  the  pastoral  ofifice."  The 
history  of  the  Church,  both  apostolic  and  mod- 
ern, sustains  this  view.  Peter  was  the  preacher 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  not  by  chance,  but  by 
Divine  purpose.  Thomas  could  not  have  been 
substituted  with  the  same  results.  But  the 
Church  has  need  of  consecrated  brains.  And 
the  men  of  this  intellectual  type,  baptized  from 
on  high,  did  for  the  Church  what  neither  John 
nor  Peter  could  have  done  so  far  as  we  know 
them. 

Of  Matthew  nothing  is  stated  in  the  Book  of 
Acts.  His  was  an  intellectual  mission  purely. 
The  Spirit  endowed  him  specially  to  write  the 
Gospel  which  bears  his  name.  And  now  hardly 
the  most  eminent  of  the  apostles  is  so  often 
brought  to  mind  as  Matthew  the  evangelist, 
whose  clear,  simple,  but  impressive  testimony  to 
the  words  and  deeds  of  his  Lord,  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  Sacred  Canon. 

The  apostle  James  appears  in  the  Acts. 
When  by  the  special  calls  of  God,  in  providences 
and  revelations,  one  and  another  of  the  apostles 
had  been  summoned  to  new  and  distant  fields, 
east,  west,  north,  and  south,  there  was  still 
needed  one,  who,  highly  "endued  with  power 


spirit-filled  Intellect  2 1 1 

from  on  high,"  might  remain  in  that  city  to 
which  all  the  sons  of  Israel  throughout  the  world 
looked  as  the  fountain  of  religious  light.  There, 
too,  was  the  scene  of  the  first  great  triumphs  of 
the  Christian  faith,  as  well  as  of  the  chief  toils, 
the  trials,  and  the  death  of  the  great"  Founder 
himself.  All  these  circumstances  rendered  Jeru- 
salem still  an  important  post  to  the  apostles ;  and 
they  therefore  left  on  that  station  the  apostle 
whose  steady  courage  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and 
blameless  yet  jealous  conformity  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  fitted  him  at  once  for  the  bold  mainte- 
nance of  his  Master's  commission,  and  for  the 
successful  advancement  of  the  gospel  among 
the  faithful  believers  of  the  ancient  covenant. 
Thus  James  continued  at  Jerusalem  throughout 
his  life. 

And  what  a  splendid  type  of  consecrated  in- 
tellect did  he  exhibit  when  called  upon  to  pre- 
side at  the  great  Ecclesiastical  Council  in  Jeru- 
salem, mentioned  in  Acts  xv!  His  decision  on 
that  occasion  showed  the  mind  of  the  jurist ;  and 
the  upshot  of  that  first  ecclesiastical  assembly 
was  a  triumph  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  account 
reads,  *'For  it  seemed  good  unto  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  to  us." 

Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson,  in  "The  Acts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,"  comments  thus  on  this  passage:  "This 
is  the  formal  announcement  of  the  conclusions 


212  Individuality 


and  decisions  of  that  first  Church  Council  at 
Jerusalem.  Apostles  and  elders  have  been  in 
conference  over  certain  troublesome  and  some- 
what vexatious  questions  of  ceremonialism, 
which  verge  closely  upon  the  domain  of  Chris- 
tian ethics.  And  now,  as  they  draw  up  their 
'deliverance,'  and  formally  issue  letters  convey- 
ing their  final  verdict,  they  boldly  treat  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  one  of  their  number — a  fellow-counselor, 
who  unites  with  them  in  the  announcement  of 
a  joint  conclusion;  as  though  he,  the  Spirit  of 
God,  had  sat  with  them  in  their  deliberations, 
had  with  them  counseled  as  chief  adviser,  and 
now  unites  with  them  in  this  deliverance,  seal- 
ing their  conclusions  with  his  approval.  As  no 
such  language,  or  anything  closely  approaching 
it,  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  Word  of  God,  its 
emphasis  can  not  be  mistaken.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  this  letter  to  the  Gentile  converts,  the 
disciples,  convened  at  Jerusalem,  had  said,  'It 
seemed  good  unto  us,  being  assembled  with  one 
accord,  to  send  chosen  men  unto  you;'  and  this 
is  the  natural  language  of  brethren  who  have 
been  in  session  deliberating  over  common  ques- 
tions. But,  as  though  One  who  was  at  the  same 
time  the  presiding  officer  and  chief  counselor 
should  be  mentioned  by  name,  they  now,  as  they 
approach  the  very  heart  of  their  message  to  Gen- 


Spirit'filled  Intellect  213 

tile  Churches,  add,  'It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  to  its.'  There  is  no  resisting  the  im- 
plication that  he  had  been  assembled  with  them, 
and  was  with  them  of  one  accord." 

There  was  one  Council  of  the  Church  which 
knew  where  to  get  guidance,  and  whom  to 
choose  as  President  and  Head.  The  Holy 
Ghost  took  charge,  and  the  decree  which  settled 
the  hard  question  came  from  him.  Here  we 
have:  i.  The  Spirit  guiding  the  Church.  This 
was  in  accordance  with  the  Savior's  promise. 

2.  The  Spirit's  guidance  acknowledged  by  the 
Church.  "It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  to  us."  "To  us"  means  acquiescence  in  the 
decision  of  the  Spirit,  as  indicated  by  recent 
events,    and   no    doubt    by    special   inspiration. 

3.  The  Spirit's  guidance  seen  in  the  decision  of 
the  Church.  In  the  liberality  of  its  sentiment, 
"Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  lib- 
erty." In  its  sanctified  common  sense.  Certain 
things  were  "necessary,"  in  order  that  Jews  and 
Gentiles  might  work  together. 

Thomas,  the  representative  man  of  this  group, 
as  we  see  him  in  the  Gospel,  is  desponding  and 
full  of  doubts;  but  after  Pentecost  he  is  a  hero. 
Very  beautifully  Chrysostom  says  of  him,  that 
he  would  hardly  venture  to  go  with  Jesus  as  far 
as  the  neighboring  town  of  Bethany;  but  after 


214  Individuality 


Pentecost  without  him  he  traveled  to  the  farthest 
India,  daring  all  the  perils  of  remote  and  hostile 
nations. 

How  is  the  Church  to  protect  herself  against 
a  noxious  intellectual  atmosphere,  and  obtain  a 
clear  vision  of  Divine  things?  There  can  be  but 
one  answer  to  that  question.  By  the  baptism 
of  the  Spirit.  In  the  diary  of  Jonathan  Edwards 
we  have  a  rare  example  of  baptized  intellect. 
He  gives  us  this  record  of  a  sacred  hour:  *'Once 
as  I  rode  out  into  the  woods  for  my  health  in 
1737,  having  aUghted  from  my  horse  in  a  retired 
place,  as  my  manner  commonly  has  been,  to 
walk  for  Divine  contemplation  and  prayer,  I  had 
a  view  that  was  for  me  extraordinary,  of  the 
glory  of  the  Son  of  God  as  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  and  his  wonderful,  great,  full, 
pure,  and  sweet  grace  and  love,  and  meek  and 
gentle  condescension.  The  grace  that  appeared 
so  calm  and  sweet,  appeared  also  great  above  the 
heavens.  The  person  of  Christ  appeared  in- 
effably excellent,  with  an  excellency  great 
enough  to  swallow  up  all  thought  and  concep- 
tion— which  continued,  as  near  as  I  can  judge, 
about  an  hour ;  which  kept  me  a  greater  part  of 
the  time  in  a  flood  of  tears  and  weeping  aloud. 
I  felt  an  ardency  of  soul  to  be,  what  I  know  not 
otherwise  how  to  express,  emptied  and  annihi- 
lated: to  lie  in  the  dust  and  be  full  of  Christ 


spirit-filled  Intellect  215 

alone ;  to  love  him  with  a  holy  and  pure  love ;  to 
trust  in  him ;  to  live  upon  him ;  to  serve  him ;  and 
to  be  perfectly  sanctified  and  made  pure  with  a 
divine  and  heavenly  purity."  Surely  this  is  a 
most  impressive  example  of  great  powers  con- 
secrated and  Spirit-filled. 

For  all  honest  doubts,  sincere  questionings, 
reverential  hesitation,  there  is  nothing  like  the 
Pentecostal  blessing;  a  heart  fully  consecrated 
to  Christ;  a  vital,  experimental  acquaintance 
with  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit's  power  in  the  soul. 
The  man  of  this  temperament  who  is  only  par- 
tially consecrated,  will  be  in  doubts  as  thick  as  a 
London  fog.  But  the  man  whose  heart  is  fixed, 
whose  religion  is  a  sublime  consecration,  who 
has  seen  the  glory  of  God  In  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells  in 
his  fullness, — that  man  finds  himself  where  lights 
do  not  wax  and  wane,  where  tides  do  not  turn, 
where  opinions  do  not  come  and  go. 

Do  you  doubt  It?  Turn  to  the  account  given 
of  the  Spirit-baptism  of  the  learned  and  eloquent 
author  of  the  ''History  of  the  Reformation." 
After  his  conversion  to  God,  and  after  he  had 
begun  to  preach  Christ  with  fullness  of  faith, 
Merle  D'Aublgne  was  so  assailed  and  perplexed, 
in  coming  Into  Germany,  by  the  sophisms  of 
rationalism,  that  he  was  plunged  Into  unutter- 
able distress,  and  passed  whole  nights  without 


2i6  Individuality 


sleeping,  crying  to  God  from  the  bottom  of  his 
heart,  or  endeavoring  by  arguments  and  syl- 
logisms without  end  to  repel  the  attack  and  the 
adversary.  In  his  perplexity  he  visited  Kleuker, 
a  venerable  divine,  at  Kiel.  Before  this  able  de- 
fender of  Christianity,  D'Aubigne  laid  his  doubts 
and  difficulties  for  solution.  Instead  of  solving 
them,  Kleuker  replied:  "Were  I  to  succeed  in 
ridding  you  of  these,  others  v^^ould  soon  rise  up. 
There  is  a  shorter,  deeper,  and  more  complete 
way  of  annihilating  them.  Let  Christ  be  really 
to  you  the  Son  of  God — the  Savior — the  Author 
of  eternal  life.  Once  get  firmly  settled  in  this 
grace,  and  then  these  difficulties  of  detail  will 
never  stop  you." 

This  advice,  followed  as  it  was  by  studying, 
with  a  pious  fellow-traveler  at  an  inn  at  Kiel, 
the  apostle's  expression,  "Now  unto  Him  that 
is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that 
we  ask  or  think,"  relieved  him  from  all  his  diffi- 
culties. Says  this  illustrious  man :  "We  were 
studying  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and  had 
got  to  the  end  of  the  third  chapter.  When  we 
read  the  last  two  verses,  *Now  unto  him  that 
IS  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that 
we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that 
worketh  in  us,  unto  him  be  glory  throughout  all 
ages,'  this  expression  fell  upon  my  soul  like  a 
revelation  from  God.     He  can  do  by  his  power, 


spirit-filled  Intellect  217 

I  said  to  myself,  above  all  we  ask,  above  all  even 
that  we  can  think — nay,  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all!  A  full  trust  in  Christ  for  the  work 
to  be  done  within  my  poor  heart  now  filled  my 
soul.  We  all  three  knelt  down;  and  although 
I  had  never  fully  confided  my  inward  struggle 
to  my  friends,  the  prayer  of  Rieu  was  filled  with 
such  admirable  faith  as  he  would  have  uttered 
had  he  known  all  my  wants.  When  I  arose  in 
that  inn-room  at  Kiel,  I  felt  as  if  my  wings  were 
renewed  as  the  wings  of  eagles.  From  that  time 
forward  I  comprehended  that  my  own  efforts 
were  of  no  avail ;  that  Christ  is  able  to  do  all  by 
his  power  that  worketh  in  us;  and  the  habitual 
attitude  of  my  soul  was  to  lie  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  crying  to  him,  *Here  I  am,  bound  hand 
and  foot,  unable  to  move,  unable  to  do  the  least 
thing  to  get  away  from  the  enemy  who  op- 
presses me.  Do  all  thyself.  I  hiovo  thou  wilt  do 
it.  Thou  wilt  even  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  I  ask.'  I  was  not  disappointed ;  all  my 
doubts  were  removed,  my  anguish  quelled,  and 
the  Lord  extended  to  me  peace  as  a  river.  Then 
I  could  comprehend  with  all  saints  what  is  the 
breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height,  and 
know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowl- 
edge. Then  was  I  able  to  say,  'Return  unto  thy 
rest,  O  my  soul,  for  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bounti- 
fully with  thee.'  " 


2 1 8  Individuality 


What  a  testimony  is  that  to  the  power  of  a 
vital,  experimental  acquaintance  with  Christ  to 
preserve  from  the  seductions  of  a  false  philos- 
ophy !  No  wonder  it  has  been  asserted  that  that 
testimony  of  D'Aubigne  is  almost  of  as  much 
practical  value  to  the  world  as  his  celebrated 
work  on  the  Reformation.  It  teaches  us  that  the 
defense  of  the  Christian  from  the  painful  doubts 
and  difficulties  suggested  by  his  own  reason,  is 
to  be  sought  rather  in  the  grace  of  the  heart 
than  in  the  strength  of  the  Intellect ;  that  prayer 
and  deep  humility  will  often  be  more  powerful 
to  establish  us  in  the  truth  than  logic.  He  who  is 
strengthened  with  all  might  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man,  and  also  is  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  though  less  skillful  In  argument,  Is  In  a  far 
better  condition  to  resist  the  subtleties  of  false 
doctrine  than  he  who  Is  stronger  In  his  logic. 
The  hidden  life  within  him  Is  vigorous,  and  rich 
In  the  enjoyment  of  Divine  love ;  he  Is  strong  In 
the  Lord  and  In  the  power  of  his  might;  and 
though  the  strength  of  the  human  Intellect,  the 
chain  of  sound  reasoning,  and  the  conclusion 
of  a  just  logic,  when  employed  in  elaborate  de- 
fenses of  the  truth,  are  of  inestimable  worth,  yet, 
with  all,  It  Is  to  the  blessing  of  God  on  the  in- 
ternal vigor  of  his  own  piety  that  the  tempted 
believer  is  indebted  for  his  stability,  more  than 


spirit-filled  Intellect  219 

to  those  outworks  which  are  cast  up  from  time 
to  time  by  the  ablest  defenders  of  Christianity. 

In  D'Aubigne's  experience  we  find  the  secret 
of  being  filled  with  the  Spirit.  If  we  have  the 
Holy  Ghost  filling  us,  he  will  not  make  us  con- 
scious of  his  presence,  but  of  Christ's  presence. 
''He  will  not  speak  of  himself."  But  he  will  give 
us  frequent  thoughts  of  Christ,  sweet  and  pre- 
cious thoughts.  To  the  Spirit-filled  intellect  the 
Lord  extends  ''peace  like  a  river." 

Even  for  the  purposes  of  the  intellect,  noth- 
ing can  be  truer  than  that  the  best  thing  we  can 
do  with  it  is  to  surrender  it  to  the  Spirit's  full- 
ness. Religion,  as  the  late  Canon  Liddon  used 
to  contend,  fertilizes  the  intellect  as  well  as  puri- 
fies the  heart.  Not  long  since  a  celebrated  elec- 
trician stated  that  he  could  "think  a  hole  through 
an  inch  board ;"  and  by  connecting  an  inch  drill 
so  that  it  could  be  actuated  by  the  electric  cur- 
rent produced  by  the  concentration  of  his 
thought,  he  actually  did  it.  If  a  man,  by  the  aid 
of  an  electric  current  harnessed  by  his  own 
hands,  can  think  a  hole  through  a  solid  timber, 
what  can  he  not  do  when  his  purpose  is  sup- 
ported and  sustained  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit?  "The  same  anointing  teacheth  you  of  all 
things,"  says  John.  Julius  Miiller,  with  all  his 
intellectual  acumen ;  D'Aubigne,  with  all  his  his- 


220  Individuality 


toric  knowledge,  needed  to  be  qualified  by  the 
Spirit  to  write  their  great  works. 

We  all  know  how  absorbed  men  may  become 
in  their  own  special  pursuits.  For  instance,  we 
have  read  about  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  and  how  ab- 
sorbed he  used  to  be  in  his  mathematical  and 
astronomical  researches,  until  he  was  scarcely 
able  to  give  a  thought  to  the  common  duties  and 
circumstances  of  life,  but  used  frequently  to 
make  the  most  ridiculous  blunders  about  com- 
monplace things,  because  he  took  so  profound 
an  interest  in,  and  was  so  fully  occupied  with, 
his  own  great  discoveries.  There  is  a  touching 
story  of  a  late  Cambridge  professor  who  was 
one  of  the  greatest  Greek  scholars  of  our  time. 
For  some  few  months  before  he  died  he  was  ad- 
vised by  his  friends  to  shut  up  his  books,  give 
up  his  studies,  and  go  as  much  as  possible  Into 
social  life,  in  order  that  he  might  be  drawn  away 
from  those  subjects  in  which  his  mind  had  be- 
come so  absorbed  that  his  constitution  was  Im- 
paired ;  indeed,  he  was  threatened  with  softening 
of  the  brain.  On  one  occasion  he  was  in  a  draw- 
ing-room, surrounded  by  cheerful  company, 
when  a  half-sad  smile  passed  over  his  counte- 
nance as  he  observed  to  a  friend :  *'What  is  the 
use  of  you  shutting  up  my  books  and  not  allow- 
ing me  to  work?  While  I  have  been  here  I  have 
traced  the  derivations  of  three   distinct  Greek 


spirit-filled  Intellect  221 

words,  and  detected  their  connection  with  cer- 
tain Sanskrit  roots."  Such  was  the  force  of  his 
ruling  passion. 

Now,  Christ  claims  that  God  is  to  be  loved 
with  all  our  being.  ''Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind."  They  who  love  God, 
then,  with  the  heart  only,  do  sin.  We  are  to  love 
God  with  all  our  mind,  with  our  brain,  and 
thought,  and  power ;  with  reason  and  with  argu- 
ment; with  learning  and  knowledge.  No  pre- 
tense that  we  love  God  with  our  heart  absolves 
us  from  loving  him  with  our  mind. 

"Keep  this  forever  in  the  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  the  heart  of  thy  people,  and  prepare 
their  heart  unto  thee."  (i  Chronicles  xxix,  18.) 
What  is  to  be  kept  forever  in  the  Imagination  of 
the  thoughts  of  the  heart?  Their  consecration. 
Our  whole  mental  being  Is  to  be  thus  pervaded 
with  the  incense  of  consecration.  The  mind  will 
then  be  "stayed  on  thee,"  and  the  keeping  "in 
perfect  peace"  will  result.  Then  the  "peace  of 
God"  will  enter  in,  to  "garrison"  the  heart  and 
thoughts. 


XV 

jfourti)  0tmp 

Key-word:   Administrative  Ability 

Lebb^us  (Thaddseus,  Judas) 

Simon  (Canaanite,  Zelotes) 

Judas  Iscariot 
223 


Some  men  are  literary,  some  are  artistic,  some  are 
scientific,  some  have  a  great  aptitude  for  business^  and 
others  are  evidently  called  to  play  a  distinguished  part  in 
politics  or  public  affairs.  — Hugh  Price  Hughes. 

224 


aumtnfgtmtiije  ability 

Administrative  ability  is  the  key-thought 
of  this  group.  Judas  Iscariot  is  the  representa- 
tive man,  though  placed  last  in  the  list  because 
a  traitor. 

I.  The  first-named  apostle  of  this  group  is 
Lebbseus,  whose  surname  was  Thaddaeus.  Also 
called  Judas  the  brother  of  James.  (I^uke  vi,  i6 ; 
Acts  i,  13.)  This  three-named  apostle  was  the 
son  of  a  James,  of  whom  we  know  nothing ;  and 
is  himself  entirely  unknown  to  us  except  by  a 
single  question  which  he  propounded  during  the 
Last  Supper.  (John  xiv,  22.)  Thomas  had 
stated  his  difEculty;  Philip  had  made  his  re- 
quest; and  now  the  Master's  discourse  was 
turned  on  the  topic  of  obedience  as  the  test  of 
affection:  "If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  command- 
ments." Obedience,  added  Christ,  would  be  re- 
warded by  the  Father's  peculiar  love  and  his 
own  open  manifestation.  Hereupon,  Judas  In- 
terrupted Christ.  In  Introducing  him,  the  evan- 
gelist denotes  him  as  "Judas,  not  Iscariot."  The 
question  proposed  by  the  apostle  was  pertinent 
to  the  Lord's  previous  line  of  address:  "Lord, 
how  Is  it  that  thou  wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us, 
and  not  unto  the  world?"  The  question  was 
15  225 


226  Individuality 


founded  on  a  misapprehension  of  the  nature  of 
the  promised  manifestation.  He  imagined  that 
Jesus  was  to  reappear  corporeally  after  his  de- 
parture to  the  Father,  and  would  therefore  be 
visible  to  the  outward  eye — not  of  this  one  or 
that  one,  but  of  all.  And  while  it  is  true  that 
neither  Judas  nor  any  of  his  brethren  was  ca- 
pable as  yet  of  conceiving  a  spiritual  manifesta- 
tion, not  to  speak  of  finding  therein  a  full  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  of  the  corporeal  presence, 
yet  the  very  fact  that  Judas  was  the  one  to  pro- 
pound this  question  betrays  the  natural  tem- 
perament of  the  man.  His  gifts  will  be  conse- 
crated to  the  temporalities  of  the  Church.  He 
represents  earnestness  for  purity  of  discipline  in 
the  Church. 

2.  Simon  the  Canaanite  comes  second  in  this 
group.  By  Luke  he  is  called  Simon  Zelotes. 
Both  these  surnames  mean  the  same  thing.  This 
apostle  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  Gospel  his- 
tory, except  in  the  catalogues;  yet,  little  known 
as  he  is,  the  epithet  attached  to  his  name  con- 
veys a  piece  of  curious  and  interesting  informa- 
tion. He  is  called  the  Kananite  (not  Canaanite), 
which  is  a  political,  not  a  geographical,  designa- 
tion. Luke  calls  him  Simon  Zelotes ;  that  is,  in 
English,  Simon  the  Zealot.  This  epithet  Zelotes 
connects  Simon  unmistakably  with  the  famous 
party  which  rose  in  rebellion  under  Judas  in  the 


Admmistrative  Ability  227 

days  of  the  taxing,  some  twenty  years  before 
Christ's  ministry  began,  when  Judea  and  Sa- 
maria were  brought  under  the  direct  government 
of  Rome,  and  the  census  of  the  population  was 
taken  with  a  view  to  subsequent  taxation. 

Bruce,  in  his  ''Training  of  the  Twelve,'*  says : 
''How  singular  a  phenomenon  is  this  ex-zealot 
among  the  disciples  of  Jesus!  No  two  men 
could  differ  more  widely  in  their  spirit,  ends,  and 
means,  than  Judas  of  Galilee  and  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. The  one  was  a  political  malcontent;  the 
other  would  have  the  conquered  bow  to  the 
yoke,  and  give  to  Caesar  Caesar's  due.  The  for- 
mer aimed  at  restoring  the  kingdom  to  Israel, 
adopting  for  his  watchword,  'We  have  no  Lord 
or  Master  but  God;'  the  latter  aimed  at  found- 
ing a  kingdom,  not  national,  but  universal ;  not 
'of  this  world,'  but  purely  spiritual.  The  means 
employed  by  the  two  actors  were  as  diverse  as 
their  ends.  One  had  recourse  to  the  carnal 
weapons  of  war,  the  sword  and  the  dagger;  the 
other  relied  solely  on  the  gentle  but  omnipotent 
force  of  truth." 

The  choice  of  this  disciple  to  be  an  apostle 
might  have  been  the  means  of  rendering  Jesus 
and  his  followers  objects  of  political  suspicion. 
But  the  Master  was  willing  to  take  the  risk.  Si- 
mon had  formerly  striven  for  "political  and  ex- 
ternally theocratic  ends;"  he  now  becomes  the 


228  Individuality 


politician  of  the  Apostolic  College.  In  some  of 
the  questions  that  came  before  our  Lord  the 
interest  of  Simon  must  have  been  peculiarly 
keen.  The  claim  of  C^sar  to  tribute  was  one  on 
which  hinged  the  whole  zealot  system;  and  well 
can  we  picture  him  pondering  the  depths  of  that 
answer  which  escaped  the  snare  so  craftily  laid : 
^'Render  therefore  unto  Caesar  the  things  which 
are  Csesar's;  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are 
God's." 

3.  Judas  Iscarlot  is  the  last  named  apostle  in 
this  group.  Dr.  Charles  R  Thwing  says  of  him : 
"If  his  name  is  put  last  in  the  list  of  the  apostles, 
it  is  so  put,  not  because  of  his  lack  of  eminence, 
but  of  merit.  He  is  the  last  of  the  Twelve,  as 
Nero  was  the  last  of  the  brilliant  line  of  the  Julian 
family.  Never  were  rulers  in  which  existed 
greater  extremes  of  the  highest  splendor  and 
basest  infamy  than  in  these  Roman  emperors. 
Never,  likewise,  was  there  a  life  in  which  meet 
such  extremes  of  highest  capability  and  lowest 
attainment  as  in  the  case  of  Judas.  He  comes, 
this  man  Judas,  like  Melchisedec,  we  know  not 
whence:  whether  of  Galilean  origin,  like  the 
other  eleven,  or  of  Judean,  scholars  are  not 
agreed.  The  very  meaning  of  his  surname,  Is- 
cariot,  is  a  question  of  philological  discussion. 
His  name  seldom  appears  in  the  Divine  story, 
as  also  seldom  appear  the  names  of  any  except 


Admmisiratwe  Ability  229 

the  specially  loved  three.  On  one  occasion, 
Christ  speaks  of  him  as  a  devil.  Christ  seems, 
however,  to  know  that  it  is  he  by  whose  hand 
he  is  to  die.  Not  until  the  close  of  the  three 
years'  history  does  he  become  prominent,  and 
then  his  prominence  is  that  of  a  traitor.  The 
very  motives  that  lead  him  to  the  betrayal  are 
not  presented  with  the  fullness  adequate  to  the 
significance  of  the  deed  in  which  they  are  to 
eventuate.  He  remains  the  enigma  of  sacred 
history."  He  deserves  his  place  at  the  foot  of 
the  Twelve,  together  with  the  postscript,  "Who 
also  betrayed  him." 

Of  his  birth,  his  home,  his  occupation,  his 
call,  and  his  personal  character,  the  sacred  writ- 
ers bear  no  testimony.  But  whatever  may  have 
been  the  business  to  which  he  had  been  devoted 
during  his  previous  life,  he  had  probably  acquired 
a  good  reputation  for  honesty,  as  well  as  for 
careful  management  of  property;  for  unless  he 
had  maintained  such  a  character  as  that  above 
imputed  to  him,  it  is  not  likely  that,  in  the  little 
company  or  family  of  Jesus,  he  would  have  taken 
such  a  high  degree  officially. 

The  statement  that  he  "had  the  bag,"  shows 
the  position  he  occupied  among  the  apostles. 
He  was  no  mean  and  inferior  person.  He  was 
so  far  from  being  suspected  that  he  had  the  dis- 
tinguished honor  of  being  intrusted  with  the 


230  Individuality 


Master's  financial  concerns.  Judas  had  decided 
natural  proclivities  towards  finance.  That  he 
had  more  than  ordinary  capacity  in  this  direc- 
tion is  evidenced  from  the  fact  that  at  once  he 
became  the  organizer  of  the  little  society,  its 
steward,  its  financier,  the  custodian  of  its  means. 
Ballinger  even  thinks  that  he  must  have  been  a 
man  remarkable  for  wisdom,  prudence,  econ- 
omy, and  faithfulness.  The  Lord,  who  knows 
how  to  use  all  sorts  of  gifts,  perceived  what  gifts 
Judas  had.  Christ  chose  him  for  what  he  was 
and  what  he  might  have  been,  not  for  what  he 
became.  "Such  a  trust  certainly  implied  a  great 
confidence  of  Jesus  in  his  honesty  and  discretion 
in  money  matters,  and  shows,  not  only  the  blame- 
lessness  of  his  character  in  those  particulars,  but 
the  peculiar  turn  of  his  genius,  in  being  selected, 
out  of  the  whole  twelve,  for  this  very  responsible 
and  somewhat  troublesome  function." 

The  name  of  Judas  should  sound  the  death- 
knell  of  all  presumptuous  confidence  in  our  ofti- 
c'lal  standing.  Ofiicial  prominence  has  special 
dangers.  As  treasurer,  Judas  develops  selfish- 
ness, avarice,  thievishness:  a  typical  defaulter. 
The  progress  of  this  covetousness  is  plainly  seen 
in  his  case.  Jesus  detected  its  development  at 
the  time  of  Peter's  noble  confession,  when,  see- 
ing the  sad  defection  of  the  worldly,  he  turned 
to  the  Twelve  and  said,  "Will  ye  also  go  away?" 


Administrative  Ability  231 

Simon  Peter  replied,  ''Lord,  to  whom  shall  we 
go  but  unto  thee?  For  thou  only  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life."  Jesus  answered,  "Have  I  not 
chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil?" 
This  reply,  as  John  says,  alluded  to  Judas  Is- 
cariot;  for  "he  it  was  that  was  to  betray  him." 
The  expression  was  terribly  strong,  and  the  ab- 
sence of  all  direct  parallels  render  it  difficult  for 
us  to  understand  its  exact  significance. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  How  came  such 
a  man  to  be  chosen  one  of  the  Twelve?  Did 
Jesus  not  know  the  real  character  of  this  man 
when  he  chose  him?  The  words  of  our  Lord, 
while  expounding  the  feet-washing,  forbid  us 
to  think  this.  "I  know  whom  I  have  chosen," 
meaning,  evidently,  to  claim  knowledge  of  them 
all,  Judas  included,  at  the  time  he  chose  them. 

Perhaps  the  summarized  statements  of  Pro- 
fessor Bruce,  in  answer  to  all  questions  on  this 
point,  are  the  clearest  explanations  that  can  be 
given.  He  says:  "We  may  regard  these  two 
points  as  certain :  on  the  one  hand,  that  Judas 
did  not  become  a  follower  of  Jesus  with  treacher- 
ous intentions ;  and  on  the  other,  that  Jesus  did 
not  elect  Judas  to  be  one  of  the  Twelve  because 
he  foreknew  that  he  would  eventually  become  a 
traitor.  .  .  .  The  only  explanation  of  his 
choice  that  can  be  given  is  that,  apart  from  se- 
cret  insight,   Judas   was   to   all   appearance   an 


232  Individuality 


eligible  man,  and  could  not  be  passed  over  on 
any  grounds  coming  under  ordinary  observation. 
His  qualities  must  have  been  such,  that  one  not 
possessing  the  eye  of  Omniscience,  looking  on 
him,  would  have  been  disposed  to  say  of  him 
what  Samuel  said  of  Eliab:  'Surely  the  Lord's 
anointed  is  before  him.'  In  that  case,  his  elec- 
tion by  Jesus  is  perfectly  intelligible.  The  Head 
of  the  Church  simply  did  what  the  Church  has  to 
do  in  analogous  instances." 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Judas  "fell."  He 
IS  sometimes  depicted  as  though  he  had  always 
had  the  heart  of  an  alien;  and  when  chosen  by 
our  Lord  to  be  one  of  his  apostles,  was  then  a 
traitor  in  spirit.  This  is  a  mistake.  When  our 
Lord  said,  "Have  I  not  chosen  you  twelve,  and 
one  of  you  is  a  devil?"  he  says,  "£y  a  devil;" 
he  does  not  say  "wa-y."  The  evils  which  de- 
stroyed Judas  had  not  ripened  in  him  when  Jesus 
called  him.  Judas  Iscariot  had  a  genuine  voca- 
tion to  the  apostolate ;  that  is,  he  had  in  him  the 
making  of  an  apostle ;  otherwise,  our  Lord  would 
not  have  chosen  him.  But  "vocations  may  be 
lost."    Judas  fell  through  yielding  to  temptation. 

The  first  sign  of  the  alienation  of  his  affec- 
tions from  Jesus  is  seen  in  the  incident  recorded 
of  the  anointing  of  the  Master's  feet  by  Mary. 
This  beautiful  instance  of  an  ardent  devotion, 
that  would  sacrifice  everything  for  its  object. 


Administrative  Ability  233 

awakened  no  corresponding  feeling  in  the  nar- 
row soul  of  Iscariot.  He  indignantly  exclaimed 
(veiling  his  true  motive,  however,  under  the  ap- 
pearance of  charitable  regard  for  the  poor),  "To 
what  purpose  is  this  waste?  Why  was  not  this 
ointment  sold  for  three  hundred  pence,  and 
given  to  the  poor?"  So  specious  was  this  honor- 
able pretense,  that  others  of  the  disciples  joined 
in  this  indignant  remonstrance.  But  honorable 
as  may  have  been  the  motives  of  the  others,  the 
apostle  John  most  distinctly  insists  that  Judas 
was  moved  by  a  far  baser  consideration.  ''This 
he  said,  not  that  he  cared  for  the  poor,  but  be- 
cause he  was  a  thief,  and  had  the  bag,  and  bare 
what  was  put  therein."  Were  it  not  for  the 
middle  clause,  we  might  have  conceived  of  Judas 
as  simply  loath  to  see  unprofitably  expended 
a  sum  which  would  have  supplied  the  Lord's 
necessities  for  many  a  day,  and  formed  a  wel- 
come replenishment  of  their  slender  purse.  It 
is  here  declared,  however,  in  plain  terms,  that 
Iscariot  had  grossly  betrayed  the  pecuniary 
trust  which  had  been  committed  to  him  on  the 
score  of  his  previous  honesty,  and  had  been 
guilty  of  downright  peculation.  ''What  renders 
this  crime  doubly  abominable,"  says  another 
writer,  "is,  that  it  was  robbing  the  poor  of  the 
generous  contributions  which,  by  the  kindness 
of  Jesus,  had  been  appropriated  to  their  use  out 


234  Indimdiiality 


of  this  little  common  stock;  for  it  seems  that 
Iscariot  was  the  minister  of  the  common  chari- 
ties of  the  brotherhood,  as  well  as  the  provider 
of  such  things  as  were  necessary  for  their  sub- 
sistence, and  the  steward  of  the  common  prop- 
erty/* An  eminent  statesman  once  said  that 
critics  were  men  who  had  failed.  What  a  lurid 
light  this  definition  casts  over  the  conduct  of 
Judas  at  this  hour ! 

The  next  we  hear  of  Judas  he  went  to  the 
high  priests,  with  intent  to  betray  Jesus  into 
their  hands.  ^'What  will  ye  give  me,  and  I  will 
deliver  him  unto  you?"  was  his  question — the 
question  of  a  man  disappointed  of  his  cherished 
ambition,  but  in  whom  the  passion  for  revenge 
was  subordinate  to  the  lust  of  gain.  The  same 
transaction  is  described  from  a  different  point  of 
view  by  St.  Luke,  who  says  that  now  Satan  en- 
tered into  Judas;  and  "truly  a  treachery  so  un- 
paralleled, combined  with  such  petty  avarice, 
might  well  be  termed  a  possession  of  the  Evil 
One,  not  in  the  sense  of  overriding  the  man's 
freedom,  but  of  an  infernal  influence  to  which 
he  deliberately  opened  his  heart." 

From  this  moment  his  purpose  is  fixed;  he 
bargains  with  them  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver, 
and  departs,  bound  by  fear  as  well  as  covetous- 
ness,  to  fulfill  his  part  of  the  contract.  He  re- 
turned to  the  unsuspecting  fellowship  of  the 


Administrative  Ability  235 

apostles.  From  day  to  day  he  waited  and 
watched  for  the  most  desirable  opportunity  of 
meeting  his  engagements  with  his  priestly  em- 
ployers. The  first  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread  having  arrived,  Jesus  sat  down  at  evening 
to  eat  the  paschal  lamb  with  his  twelve  disciples, 
alone.  The  whole  twelve  were  there  without  one 
exception.  It  is  inconceivable  how  Judas  could 
sit  through  the  Last  Supper,  listening  to,  the  ten- 
der discourse  and  looking  into  the  face  of  the 
Master,  and  remain  unmoved  and  impenitent. 
During  the  supper,  and  after  the  impressive  cere- 
mony of  washing  their  feet,  Jesus  made  a  sudden 
transition  from  the  comments  with  which  he  was 
illustrating  it,  and,  in  a  tone  of  deep  and  sorrow- 
ful emotion,  said :  ''Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me."  Instantly  all 
enjoyment  was  at  an  end ;  and  grieved  by  the  im- 
putation. In  which  all  seemed  included  until  the 
individual  was  pointed  out,  they  each  earnestly 
inquired,  *Xord,  Is  It  I?"  Not  to  be  singled  from 
the  rest,  the  traitor  defies  the  risk  of  exposure, 
and  dares  to  ask  in  the  like  form,  "Rabbi,  is  it  I?" 
To  whom  the  Savior  darts  privately  the  reply, 
''Thou  hast  said."  "Now,  there  was  leaning  on 
Jesus'  bosom  one  of  his  disciples  whom  Jesus 
loved.  Simon  Peter  therefore  beckoned  to  him, 
that  he  should  ask  who  it  should  be  of  whom 
he  spake.    He  then,  lying  on  Jesus'  breast,  salth 


236  Individuality 


unto  him,  Lord,  who  is  it?"  Jesus,  to  make  his 
reply  as  deliberate  and  impressive  as  possible, 
said :  ''He  it  is  to  whom  I  shall  give  a  sop  when 
I  have  dipped  it.  And  when  he  had  dipped  the 
sop,  he  gave  it  to  Judas  Iscariot,  the  son  of 
Simon.  And  after  the  sop,  Satan  entered  into 
him."  Judas  was  moved  to  no  change  in  his 
dark  purpose;  but  with  a  new  Satanic  spirit,  re- 
solved immediately  to  execute  his  plan,  in  spite 
of  his  open  exposure,  which,  he  might  think,  was 
meant  to  shame  him  from  his  baseness.  Jesus, 
with  an  eye  still  fixed  on  his  most  secret  inward 
movements,  said  to  him,  'What  thou  doest,  do 
quickly."  Peter  and  John  alone  understood  the 
words;  the  others  were  still  so  uninformed,  and 
so  well  had  appearances  been  sustained,  that  they 
supposed  the  Lord  simply  to  be  giving  direction 
to  Judas  in  his  twofold  capacity  of  purveyor  and 
almoner.  Judas  "went  immediately  out;  and," 
adds  the  evangelist,  "it  was  night." 

From  the  supper-table  the  traitor  appears  to 
have  gone  straightway  to  the  chief  priests,  and 
made  known  to  them  that  the  time  was  now 
come.  The  band  of  watchmen  and  servants, 
with  their  swords  and  cudgels,  were  accordingly 
mustered  and  put  under  the  guidance  of  Judas, 
who,  well  knowing  the  place  to  which  Je-sus 
would  go  from  the  feast,  conducted  them  to  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane.     A  preconcerted  signal 


Administrative  Ability  237 

had  been  arranged  by  Judas.  "He  whom  I  kiss," 
he  had  said  to  them,  *'the  same  is  he;  hold  him 
fast."  And  so,  advancing  to  Jesus,  he  exclaimed, 
"Hail,  Master;  and  kissed  him."  "Judas,"  said 
Jesus  unto  him,  with  stern  and  sad  reproach, 
"betrayest  thou  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?" 
Without  more  delay  he  announced  himself  in 
plain  terms  to  those  who  came  to  seize  him ;  thus 
showing  how  little  need  there  was  of  artful  con- 
trivance in  taking  One  who  did  not  seek  to  es- 
cape. "If  ye  seek  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  I  am  he." 
The  simple  majesty  with  which  these  words  were 
uttered  was  such  as  to  overawe  even  the  low  offi- 
cials; and  it  was  not  till  he  himself  had  again 
distinctly  reminded  them  of  their  object  that 
they  could  execute  their  errand. 

No  further  mention  is  made  of  Iscariot,  after 
the  scene  of  his  treachery,  until  the  next  morn- 
ing, when  Jesus  had  been  condemned;  then  he 
began  fully  to  realize  all  that  he  had  done.  "Had 
he,  even  then,"  says  Canon  Farrar,  "but  gone  to 
his  Lord  and  Savior,  and  prostrated  himself  at 
his  feet  to  implore  forgiveness,  all  might  have 
been  well.  But,  alas!  he  went  instead  to  the 
patrons  and  associates  and  tempters  of  his  crime. 
From  them  he  met  with  no  pity,  no  counsel.  He 
was  a  despised  and  broken  instrument,  and  now 
he  was  tossed  aside.  They  met  his  maddening 
remorse  with  chilly  indifference  and  callous  con- 


238  Individuality 


tempt.  1  have  sinned,'  he  shrieked  to  them,  *in 
that  I  have  betrayed  innocent  blood/  Did  he 
expect  them  to  console  his  remorseful  agony,  to 
share  the  blame  of  his  guilt,  to  excuse  and  con- 
sole him  with  their  lofty  dignity?  'What  is  that 
to  us?  See  thou  to  that'  was  the  sole  and  heart- 
less reply  they  deigned  to  the  poor  traitor  whom 
they  had  encouraged,  welcomed,  incited  to  his 
deed  of  infamy."  That  answer  paralyzed  the 
heart  of  Judas;  maddened  with  remorse,  and 
flinging  down  the  price  of  his  infamy  and  woe 
upon  the  pavement  in  the  temple  where  the 
priests  sat,  he  hurried  into  the  despairing  soli- 
tude from  which  he  would  never  emerge  alive. 
Such  was  the  end  of  the  twelfth  of  Christ's 
chosen  ones.  To  such  an  end  was  the  familiar 
friend,  the  trusted  steward,  the  social  companion 
of  the  Savior,  brought  by  the  impulse  of  some 
not  very  unnatural  feelings,  excited  by  occasion 
into  extraordinary  action.  Jesus  gave  Judas  one 
opportunity  after  another  for  confession.  "As 
he  washed  his  feet,  the  touch  of  Jesus'  hand; 
when  he  offered  him  the  sop,  the  look  on  Jesus' 
face;  when  he  told  him  to  do  his  work  quickly, 
the  sound  of  Jesus's  voice,  were  means  of  grace.". 
If,  at  this  last  moment,  he  had  cast  himself  on 
his  Master's  mercy,  we  should  have  mentioned 
his  name  to-day — the  chief  sinner  saved.  Judas 
was  to  be  Jesus'  failure. 


Administrative  Ability  239 

This  group  we  may  call  the  Hebraistic,  or 
practical,  group.  All  the  apostles  in  it  were  men 
of  evidently  practical  gifts.  Commercial  sagac- 
ity, creative  industry,  financial  ability, — these 
are  only  so  many  ways  by  which  one  may  bring 
his  gifts  to  bear  upon  the  great  ends  of  life  and 
serve  God. 


XVI 


C|)e  9ltimintstratt\)e  Cjpe  of 
Cijrtstianit? 


24X 


No  matter  how  good  or  how  strong  a  cause  may  be, 
the  scheme  of  its  propagation  necessarily  has  its  business 
department,  which,  being  independent  of  the  cause  itself, 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  incident  to  all  organized  human  action, 
must  be  conducted  on  business  principles. 

— /.  G.  Holland. 
242 


aDmutiiStmttbe  C^pe  of  €livi^tianitv 

Man  has  a  body  as  well  as  a  soul;  and  the 
Church,  in  its  corporate  capacity,  has  material 
and  temporal  interests.  Bills  must  be  met,  or 
debts  will  be  incurred ;  and  so  money  is  in  con- 
stant demand.  A  house  of  worship  must  be 
built,  paid  for,  aiid  kept  in  repair.  "Such  mat- 
ters," says  Dr.  A.  T.  Pierson,  "belonging  to  the 
Church  as  a  civil  and  social  institution,  demand 
for  their  management  financial  ability,  practical 
sagacity,  energy,  and  prudence ;  but,  most  of  all, 
common  sense.  Nor  must  we  underrate  the 
importance  of  administrative  ability.  Whatever 
other  elements  of  prosperity  a  Church  may  have, 
without  this  it  is  but  as  a  strong  mind  in  a  weak 
frame."  That  lack  of  administrative  or  execu- 
tive ability  which  leaves  the  Church  to  "run 
itself,"  hazards  not  only  its  success,  but  its  being. 
It  will  "run  itself" — into  risk,  perhaps  into  ruin. 

I.  The  Church  needs  consecrated  business 
talent.  The  position  which  Judas  held  among 
the  disciples  indicates  almost  beyond  a  doubt  the 
nature  of  his  gifts.  He  was  their  treasurer;  he 
had  talent  for  the  administration  of  their  busi- 
ness affairs.  How  very  desirable  such  a  talent 
would  have  been  for  that  future  organization 
243 


244  Individuality 


over  which  the  Twelve  were  to  preside !  Later, 
when  the  apostles  were  no  longer  capable  of  con- 
trolling the  distribution  of  alms,  and  the  Greek 
widows  suffered  neglect  to  the  advantage  of 
those  of  the  Jews  (Acts  vi,  i);  and  afterwards, 
when  the  congregation  at  Jerusalem  was  suffer- 
ing such  privations  that  Paul  was  obliged  to  take 
up  collections  through  all  the  Churches  in  Eu- 
rope and  Asia  to  rescue  the  first  apostles'  Church 
from  danger  of  starving, — these  facts  prompt  in- 
quiry as  to  whether  some  deficiency  was  not  felt 
among  the  apostles  after  the  loss  of  him  whom 
the  Lord  had  appointed  to  be  steward  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  whether  Judas's  successor  did 
not  lack  fitness  for  his  office.  Very  often  the 
highest  work  of  the  Church  fails  in  the  attain- 
ment of  its  object,  because  it  is  not  adequately 
supported  by  proper  administrative  ability. 

In  First  Chronicles  ix,  19,  reference  is  made 
to  certain  men  who  were  "over  the  work  of  the 
service,  keepers  of  the  gates  of  the  tabernacle.'* 
They  were  what  we  would  call  "church-war- 
dens," or  Church  "officials,"  attending  to  the 
temporal  affairs  of  the  Church.  But  it  is  just 
here  that  Christianity  in  some  of  its  rarest  quali- 
ties is  revealed.  There  are  men  specially  fitted 
for  this  work — better  fitted  than  any  Peter,  John, 
or  James  could  be.  And  the  question  of  respon- 
sibility is  just  as  great;  and  when  the  men  of 


Administrative  Type  of  Christianity      245 

^'affairs"  in  the  Church  come  to  feel  that  they  are 
as  responsible  for  the  success  of  the  Church  as  is 
the  minister  himself,  a  great  need  will  have  been 
met;  and  ''the  institution  will  be  equally  vital 
at  every  point,  and  exquisitely  adapted  to  the 
ends  proposed  by  its  creation." 

2.  New  emphasis  must  be  put  upon  the  sanc- 
tification  of  secular  life.  More  and  more  the  con- 
viction fastens  upon  us  that  commerce  between 
man  and  man — business  in  some  form — is  a  Di- 
vine ordinance.  We  need  not  quote  Scripture 
in  support  of  this  conclusion;  it  is  implied  in 
almost  every  chapter  which  bears  on  the  prac- 
tical conduct  of  men.  The  merchant's  work  is 
just  as  providential  as  that  of  the  clergyman; 
and  his  mission,  if  he  rightly  understand  it,  is 
just  as  important.  "If  the  consecrating  hands 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  says  one,  ''are  laid  on  the 
head  of  the  preacher,  and  he  is  thus  devoted  to  a 
special  task,  so  are  the  same  hands  laid  in  equal 
consecration  on  the  head  of  the  young  man  who 
starts  on  a  business  career  in  life,  and  he  is  laid 
under  solemn  obligations  to  be  useful  in  his 
sphere." 

That  is  a  truth  which  can  not  be  too  keenly 
appreciated.  The  divorce  of  religion  and  busi- 
ness is  the  peril  of  the  hour.  The  distinction 
which  is  so  commonly  made  between  secular  and 
sacred  is  a  deadly,  anti-Christian  delusion.  There 


246  Individuality 


is  not  a  single  passage  in  the  New  Testament 
which  justifies  it.  We  must  avoid  confounding 
"secular"  with  "sinful;"  they  are  two  essentially 
different  ideas.  "Sacred"  and  "sinful"  are  irrec- 
oncilably opposed — they  war  with  each  other  to 
all  eternity.  But  "sacred"  and  "secular"  are  not 
opposed — they  can  travel  agreeably  side  by  side. 
And  that  is  God's  intention — that  you  and  I 
should  learn  the  happy  art  of  rightly  adjusting 
their  several  claims,  so  that  in  the  experience  of 
each  of  us  they  may  travel  thus,  side  by  side,  in 
the  journey  of  life. 

There  is  an  apt  illustration  of  this  in  the  life 
of  Dr.  Arnold.  Arnold  was  called  to  visit  a 
dying  man.  He  talked  to  him,  and  admonished 
him,  and  prayed  with  him,  as  became  a  faithful 
minister  of  Christ  under  the  circumstances.  His 
next  engagement,  immediately  afterwards,  was 
to  go  into  the  school,  where  the  sixth-form  boys 
were  waiting  for  him  to  give  them  their  Greek 
lesson.  He  felt  the  transition  to  be  abrupt — the 
transition  from  the  dying  bed  to  the  sixth  form. 
Yet  he  reflected,  that  although  of  very  different 
kinds,  they  zvcrc  both  duties;  and  that,  to  a  mind 
perfectly  in  harmony  with  its  duty,  there  w^ould 
be  no  difificulty.  He  states  that  he  found  relief 
in  prayer,  which,  as  he  felt,  harmonized  the  two. 
And  there  is  much  to  be  learned  from  his  re- 
mark, obvious  though  it  may  appear,  that  they 


Administrative  Type  of  Christianity      247 

were  both  duties.  One  was  secular,  the  other 
peculiarly  sacred;  yet,  as  duties,  each  formed  part 
of  a  whole,  which,  rightly  apprehended,  must  be 
in  harmony  with  itself. 

Christian  men's  business  is  to  be  transformed 
and  lifted  from  the  plane  of  selfishness  to  the 
high  plane  of  service.  There  is  no  necessity  of 
making  religion  a  side-show.  It  is  a  thing  for 
use  and  service,  for  the  store,  the  office,  the 
counting-house,  for  land  or  sea,  for  every  activity 
of  business  life.  The  knowledge  of  God's  pres- 
ence in  the  store  and  the  mart  is  the  need  of  the 
hour;  a  religion  that  sanctifies  the  store  and  the 
office,  as  well  as  the  church  pew;  a  religion  that 
runs  into  the  business  of  Monday  and  Tuesday, 
making  a  man  as  careful  about  his  credits  and 
debits  as  he  is  on  Sunday  about  his  praises  and 
prayers.  A  road  surveyor,  who  was  just  finish- 
ing the  leveling  and  paving  of  a  long  stretch  of 
street,  asked  a  bystander  in  an  enthusiastic  tone 
if  he  did  not  think  it  splendid.  ''You  see,"  he 
added,  ''I  am  trying  to  put  my  Christianity  into 
the  streets  I  make."  That  is  just  it.  Drive  your 
engines,  make  your  coats  and  boots  and  chairs 
for  Christ. 

The  ability  to  make  money,  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  that  gift  for  Christ's  cause,  is  the  Spir- 
it's call  to  the  men  of  this  group.  We  can  not 
get  along  without  money-making.     The  clergy 


248  Individiialily 


are  apt  to  talk  about  ''filthy  lucre."  But  do  not 
be  led  astray.  Money  is  never  filthy  unless  it 
makes  the  soul  that  seeks  it  filthy.  Money,  both 
inherited  and  accumulated,  is  a  great  talent  or 
opportunity.  If  your  life  is  one  of  getting,  get- 
ting, getting,  then  there  is  but  one  safety-valve 
to  such  a  life ;  it  is  giving,  giving,  giving.  Liber- 
ality is  one  of  the  Christian  graces.  What  a 
flood  of  light  that  fact  throws  upon  the  v^hole 
subject  of  Church  finances !  With  the  false  ideas 
so  many  of  us  have  of  liberality,  no  w^onder  that 
the  Divine  order  of  giving  has  been  inverted,  so 
that  the  ministers  have  to  beg  and  beg  the 
Church  to  give,  instead  of  the  ''Church  praying 
us  with  much  entreaty  to  receive  their  gift^ 
Failing  to  see  that  liberality  is  a  grace,  we  have 
made  it  a  duty,  a  burden.  Hence  all  this  clap- 
trap machinery  for  raising  Church  money !  We 
say  clap-trap  machinery!  We  do  not  speak  un- 
advisedly; for  the  whole  alphabet  has  been  ex- 
hausted in  our  endeavors  to  provide  Church  en- 
tertainments to  raise  money.  Just  Hsten:  "We 
have  art  socials  and  authors'  socials,  blackberry 
and  broom  brigade,  and  busy  bee,  cream,  cake, 
calico  and  charade,  Dorcas  and  donkey,  ever- 
green and  Easter,  farewell  and  fan,  garden  and 
gift,  harvest  home  and  Halloween,  ice-cream 
and  instrumental,  jug-breaking  and  jelly-mak- 
ing, knitting  and  keepsake,  lawn  and  literary, 


Administrative  Type  of  Christianity      249 

May  queen,  Martha  Washington  and  mission, 
necktie  and  New- Year,  old  folks'  and  old  fash- 
ion, pink  and  pound,  quarterly,  reading  and 
raspberry,  spelling-bee  and  strawberry,  tea- 
drinking,  tableaux  and  Thanksgiving,  union  and 
variety,  white  Yuletide,  young  folks  and  Zenana 
socials.  It  is  suggested  that  the  alphabet  be 
completed  by  a  few  ,t'tra  jrcentric  socials,  if  it 
be  possible  for  any  progressive  Church  to  ar- 
range it." 

Nay,  what  the  Church  needs  is  not  more  ap- 
plied force  to  work  her  financial  pumps,  but 
more  of  the  grace  of  liberality  in  the  heart  to 
work  the  machinery  by  a  power  from  within. 
Starr  King  declares :  "Men  deny  the  doctrine  of 
trust,  and  feel  less  the  duty  of  service  in  respect 
of  money  than  of  all  other  things.  And  if  Christ 
could  return  to  the  earth  now  and  sit  in  judg- 
ment upon  us,  and  show  us  the  way  of  duty,  the 
consecration  of  money  would  be  the  great  thing, 
I  believe,  which  he  would  strive  to  impress  upon 
us ;  and  if  he  could  call  us  all  before  him  with  our 
coins, — all  the  coins  that  we  have  spent  in  the 
years  of  our  responsibility, — one  of  his  most 
serious  questions  would  be,  as  he  inspected  each 
of  them,  'Whose  image  and  superscription  is 
this?'  And  as  he  saw  them  so  generally  stamped 
with  the  figures  of  Pleasure  and  Mammon,  he 
would  ask,  in  a  tone  that  would  search  the  secret 


250  Individuality 


places  of  our  souls,  Where  are  those  that  have 
been  rendered  unto  God  by  the  good  that  they 
have  done  in  the  world?'  " 

There  are  eyes  that  read  upon  a  piece  of  gold 
nothing  but  the  figures  that  tell  its  denomina- 
tion. And  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  times 
is  the  miserliness  of  the  wealthy.  They  are  pre- 
paring for  their  children  an  awful  retribution. 
There  are  others,  thank  God!  that  see  upon 
money  truths  that  thrill  and  gladden  and  uplift. 
And  when  we  have  learned  to  look  through 
money  into  that  infinite  reach  that  lies  beyond 
it,  we  will  have  learned  the  lesson  of  the  gospel. 

3.  There  is  need  of  statesmanship.  Christ 
had  an  important  work  for  Simon  Zelotes — the 
man  trained  in  civics.  The  world  needs  just  this 
type  of  Christianity — qualified  and  consecrated 
statesmanship.  Dr.  Joseph  Parker  puts  it  thus : 
*'If  the  Church  is  simply  managed  by  mechanical 
regulations,  by  the  starting  of  wheels,  the  turn- 
ing of  taps,  the  management  of  congregational 
machinery,  then  an  automaton  may  some  day 
be  invented  that  will  conduct  the  whole  process 
without  intelligence  or  feeling.  But  if  the 
Church  of  God  is  humanity  in  its  best  aspect, 
and  humanity  engaged  in  its  most  beneficent 
activities;  if  it  is  humanity  intent  upon  bringing 
all  races  and  grades  of  men  into  sympathy,  and 
conducting  them  towards  a  worthy  destiny,  then 


Administrative  Type  of  Christianity      251 

is  the  Church  a  place  for  statesmanship,  genius, 
and  more  than  soldier-Uke  discipline  and  au- 
thority." 

And,  undoubtedly,  that  is  the  office  of  the 
Church.  It  is  a  Church  of  this  character  that 
the  times  demand.  A  man's  religion  consists  in 
something  else  than  in  duty  toward  God,  It 
must  control  the  whole  circle  of  his  relationships, 
and  make  of  him  a  better  citizen,  as  well  as  a 
better  man.  Indeed,  it  can  not  do  the  one  with- 
out doing  the  other;  but  there  are  few  who  are 
disposed  to  carry  their  religion  into  their  poli- 
tics, in  the  same  way  that  there  are  few  who  are 
disposed  to  carry  their  religion  into  their  busi- 
ness. Necessarily  they  are  more  conscientious 
in  both  matters,  but  it  is  not  because  they  believe 
that  they  should  carry  the  atmosphere  of  worship 
and  of  consecration  into  either.  But  if  the  spirit 
of  Christ's  teaching  were  carried  out,  there 
would  be  more  Christian  men  attend  the  pri- 
maries, and  there  would  be  less  occasion  to 
mourn  that  corrupt  men  are  elected  to  office.  If 
the  command  of  Scripture  is  ''to  obey  magis- 
trates," then,  in  a  land  where  the  people  elect 
their  own  magistrates,  the  spirit  of  the  injunc- 
tion would  demand  that  they  elect  magistrates 
whom  they  conscientiously  can  obey.  "Ready 
to  every  good  work"  means,  among  other 
things,  ready  to  every  political  duty,  so  that  evil- 


252  Individuality 


minded  men  may  not  have  things  all  their  own 
way. 

This  is  true,  also,  of  the  social  problems  of  the 
day.  There  never  was  a  time  when  so  many 
minds  were  so  busy  with  thoughts  of  a  healthier 
and  happier  social  state.  But  people  seem  to 
think  that  if  they  can  only  reconstruct  the  ma- 
chinery of  society,  it  will  run  itself.  They  see 
that  in  the  lower  stages  of  social  evolution,  ma- 
chinery does  a  great  deal.  They  see  the  State 
preserving  itself  by  legislation;  they  see  some 
evils  checked,  and  some  gain  made  by  law.  But 
the  fact  is,  as  Professor  Peabody  remarks, ''that  at 
a  certain  point  the  movement  of  society  becomes, 
not  mechanical,  but  moral.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  controlling  men,  but  of  calling  forth  the  best 
in  men;  and  at  that  point  the  movement  waits, 
not  for  new  economic  laws  or  social  schemes, 
but  for  better  souls,  for  higher  impulses,  for  the 
revealing  of  the  sons  of  men." 

It  is  easy  enough  to  run  away  from  the  ten- 
dencies of  our  own  times,  and  it  is  easier  still  to 
yield  to  the  evil ;  but  to  be  in  the  world,  yet  not 
of  it,  putting  a  strong,  clean  hand  upon  busi- 
ness, or  society,  or  politics,  molding  its  material, 
yet  not  defiled  by  it, — that  is  the  real  problem 
of  the  present  age.  Wickedness  which  a  man 
can  prevent,  and  which  he  does  not  prevent,  in- 
culpates him.     We  are  not  morally  responsible 


Adfninistrative  Type  of  Christianity      253 

simply  for  the  wickedness  which  we  do,  but  for 
the  wickedness  which  we  can  prevent  as  well. 
If  you  put  the  torch  to  your  neighbor's  house, 
you  are  guilty  in  one  way;  but  if  another  puts 
the  torch  to  that  house,  and  you  go  by  and  see 
the  flames,  and  say,  *'It  is  not  my  business ;  I  did 
not  kindle  that  fire ;  and,  besides,  he  is  an  enemy 
of  mine,"  you  are  culpable  in  another.  Men 
bring  upon  themselves  the  guilt,  either  in  part 
or  in  whole,  of  whatever  evil  they  can  stop,  and 
do  not  stop.  No  man  has  a  right  to  call  himself 
a  Christian  who,  living  among  men,  finds  that 
the  only  thing  he  cares  for  is  himself — that  the 
only  things  that  afifect  his  mind  are  moral  con- 
siderations of  his  own  purity  and  his  own  enjoy- 
ment. That  spirit  which  says,  "I  will  take  care 
of  my  own  self,  and  let  other  men  take  care  of 
themselves,"  is  of  the  devil.  The  Spirit  of  God  is 
this,  "Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things, 
but  every  man  also  on  the  things  of  others." 

"Even  when  a  new-born  Church  is  forming 
Itself,"  says  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale,  "while  it  is  throw- 
ing down  its  roots  and  getting  strength,  every 
genuine  man  and  woman  in  it,  who  is  in  earnest 
about  it,  ought  to  be  asking,  'What  can  we  do  to 
bring  God's  rule  to  this  town?'  'Whose  fault 
was  it,  for  instance,  that  those  children  died  of 
cholera  infantum  last  summer  in  Swett  Street?' 
'What  could  have  been  done  to  prevent  that 


254  Individuality 


drunken  fight  at  the  corner  grocery?'  'Could  we 
have  done  nothing  to  rescue  that  poor  factory 
girl  who  committed  suicide  yesterday?'  What 
could  we  do,  what  could  this  Church  do,  in  such 
instances  as  this,  where  the  devil  seems  to  have 
succeeded,  so  that  in  his  place  the  God  of  love 
might  reign?"  Well  did  Benjamin  FrankUn  say, 
"Whosoever  introduces  into  pubHc  affairs  the 
principles  of  primitive  Christianity,  will  change 
the  face  of  the  world/' 


XVII 

Cemptations  of  9ltimtnisittattoti 


253 


If  we  come  to  that  turnstile  called  "  Temptation,"  may 
"we  always  be  found  upon  that  side  of  the  bar  which,  as  it 
swings,  shall  move  us  nearer  to  Thee! 

— Rev.  He7iry  Ostrom. 
256 


Cemptatfonjs  of  atimintjStration 

Ghabrias  was  wont  to  say  that  he  was  the 
best  commander  in  war  who  best  understood  his 
enemies.  The  Savior  commands  us  to  "watch ;" 
and  then  gives  the  reason  for  watchfulness,  "lest 
ye  enter  into  temptation" — as  though  that  would 
often  decide  the  moral  condition  of  a  man;  as 
though  his  safety  required  that  he  should  not  go 
into  temptation,  and  should  not  lie  exposed  to 
temptation.  One  petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer 
is,  "Lead  us  not  into  temptation" — as  though 
we  should  be  safe  if  we  were  not  led  into  it,  and 
as  though  our  safety  would  be  doubtful  if  we 
were.  No  man  knows,  when  he  is  led  into  temp- 
tation, whether  he  will  come  out  safe.  "A  pru- 
dent man,"  we  are  told,  "foreseeth  the  evil,  and 
hideth  himself;  but  the  simple  pass  on  and  are 
punished."  And  that  passage  of  Paul  in  Ephe- 
sians,  "Put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that  ye 
may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  hav- 
ing done  all,  to  stand,"  is  to  the  same  purport. 
Look  out  for  danger,  and  prepare  for  it,  and  avoid 
it — that  is  the  spirit  of  the  injunction  of  the 
whole  New  Testament,  as  it  was  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. The  dangers  arising  from  men's  tem- 
peraments can  not  be  met,  on  the  whole,  in  any 
17  257 


258  Individuality 


other  way  so  well  as  by  a  beforehand  prepara- 
tion. Satan  knows  our  besetments.  Of  all  these 
he  takes  advantage.  The  peculiar  besetments 
of  men  of  administrative  gifts  are  many ;  we  shall 
emphasize  only  the  more  prominent. 

I.  Temptations  of  ofifice.  Ofifice  tests  men. 
There  is  what  may  be  called  official  haughtiness. 
A  most  singular  thing  it  is  that  of!ice  in  many 
instances  develops  a  new  man,  even  in  our  most 
familiar  friends.  They  no  sooner  become 
"dressed  in  a  little  brief  authority,"  than  they 
surprise  us  by  unsuspected  dispositions;  they 
are  haughty  and  self-considering.  Christ  ac- 
cused the  rulers  of  men  "of  lording  it"  over 
them,  and  "exercising  authority"  over  them. 
(Matthew  xx,  25.)  Then  he  added :  "But  it  shall 
not  be  so  among  you;  but  whosoever  will  be 
great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister ;  and 
whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be 
your  servant ;  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not 
to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to 
give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many."  The  ethical 
standard  of  Christ  is  determined,  not  by  the  ex- 
tent to  which  we  "lord  it  over"  other  men,  or 
"exercise  authority"  over  them,  but  by  the  ex- 
tent that  we  "serve"  other  men,  and  live,  not  for 
personal  or  family  aggrandizement,  but  for  the 
public  good. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  Price  Hughes  calls  attention 


Temptations  of  Administration  259 

to  the  fact  that  some  years  ago  Mrs.  Josephine 
Butler,  at  a  great  meeting  in  Exeter  Hall,  Lon- 
don, called  attention  to  the  disagreeable  and 
ominous  fact  that  those  who  carried  on  the  po- 
litical business  of  the  country  were  no  longer 
called,  as  in  the  days  of  her  youth,  "the  Min- 
istry," but  had  usurped  the  title  of  ''the  Govern- 
ment." This  is  a  very  unfortunate  change. 
''The  Ministry"  is  a  much  nobler  name  from  the 
Christian  standpoint.  A  tyrant  or  a  scoundrel 
can  "govern"  for  a  time  by  the  use  of  force,  but 
only  a  true  patriot  and  a  good  man  can  be  a 
"minister,"  a  servant  of  the  people. 

Another  prominent  sin  of  office  is  a  want  of 
sincerity.  The  two  great  means  which  insincerity 
uses  in  order  to  deceive  are  simulation  and  dis- 
simulation :  simulation  is  the  seeming  to  be  what 
we  are  not ;  dissimulation,  the  seeming  not  to  be 
what  we  are.  Innumerable  are  the  shapes  which 
simulation  puts  on  in  order  to  deceive;  and  al- 
most as  many  are  used  by  dissimulation  for  the 
same  purpose.  Dissimulation  is  the  very 
groundwork  of  all  worldly  policy.  Machiavelli 
laid  down  this  for  a  master  rule  in  his  political 
scheme,  That  the  show  of  religion  was  helpful 
to  the  politician,  but  the  reality  of  it  hurtful  and 
pernicious.  Talleyrand,  whom  the  world  ac- 
counted the  greatest  politician  of  his  day,  un- 
blushingly  adopted  the  principle  that  "the  use 


26o  Individuality 


of  language  is  to  disguise  and  conceal  our 
thoughts;"  and  how  often  do  the  words  and 
promises  of  politicians  to-day  show  that  they 
are  made  for  the  very  purpose  of  evasion !  In- 
sincerity characterizes  the  conduct  of  the  can- 
didate while  seeking  the  suffrages  of  his  country- 
men ;  it  breathes  in  the  condescension  of  his  per- 
sonal canvass,  and  dictates  the  topics  of  his  pub- 
lic addresses.  He  gains  his  object  by  making 
professions  which  he  knows  are  not  sincere,  and 
promises  which  he  never  means  to  fulfill.  He 
advocates  measures,  not  because  they  are  good 
in  themselves,  but  because  they  are  likely  to  ad- 
vance his  own  interests  or  those  of  his  party; 
conceals  his  real  motives  under  a  well-dissembled 
zeal  for  the  public  good ;  and  if  he  have  not  the 
effrontery  of  one  who  boldly  defended  lying  in 
his  parliamentary  speeches  as  a  rhetorical  arti- 
fice, nevertheless  tries  to  advance  the  meanest 
and  most  selfish  purposes  by  loud  and  eloquent 
declarations  of  the  noblest  sentiments.  But  the 
man  of  sincerity  will  neither  simulate  nor  dis- 
simulate. Sincerity  in  our  civil  and  political  re- 
lations will  lead  us  to  use  with  integrity  the 
rights  with  which  we  are  intrusted.  Our  patriot- 
ism must  be  a  sincere  love  of  our  country,  a  sin- 
cere desire  to  perpetuate  and  increase  the  na- 
tional prosperity. 

Once  more,  those  in  authority  are  too  apt  to 


Tcfnpiatwns  of  Administration  261 

forget  or  shelve  their  responsibilities.  "While  there 
are  many  in  our  Parliaments,  and  like  governing 
bodies  in  Christendom,"  says  Dr.  S.  H.  Kellogg, 
"who  cast  their  every  vote  with  the  fear  of  God 
before  their  eyes,  yet,  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the 
general  opinion  of  men  upon  this  subject,  there 
are  many  in  such  places  who,  in  their  voting, 
have  before  their  eyes  the  fear  of  party  more 
than  the  fear  of  God ;  and  who,  when  a  question 
comes  before  them,  first  of  all  consider,  not  what 
would  the  law  of  absolute  righteousness,  the  law 
of  God,  require,  but  how  will  a  vote,  one  way  or 
the  other,  in  this  matter  be  likely  to  affect  our 
party?  Such  certainly  need  to  be  emphatically 
reminded  of  that  Divine  law  which  holds  the 
civil  ruler  specially  responsible  to  God  for  the 
execution  of  his  trust.  For  so  it  is  still ;  God  has 
not  abdicated  his  throne  in  favor  of  the  people, 
nor  will  he  waive  his  crown-rights  out  of  defer- 
ence to  the  political  necessities  of  a  party." 

Nor  is  it  only  those  who  sin  in  this  particular 
way  who  need  the  reminder  of  their  personal  re- 
sponsibility to  God.  All  need  it  who  either  are 
or  may  be  called  to  places  of  greater  or  less  gov- 
ernmental responsibility;  for  in  all  times,  those 
who  have  been  lifted  to  positions  of  political 
power  have  been  under  peculiar  temptation  to 
forget  God,  and  become  reckless  of  their  obli- 
gation to  him  as  his  ministers.    The  temptation 


262  Individuality 


is  strong  to  silence  conscience  with  plausible 
sophistries,  and  to  use  their  office  to  carry  out 
in  legislation,  instead  of  the  will  of  God,  the  will 
of  the  people.  Yet  the  great  principle  affirmed  in 
the  Divine  law  stands,  and  will  stand  forever, 
and  to  it  all  will  do  well  to  take  heed;  namely, 
''that  God  will  hold  the  civil  ruler  responsible, 
and  more  heavily  responsible  than  any  private 
person,  for  any  sin  he  may  commit,  and  espe- 
cially for  any  violation  of  law  in  any  matter  com- 
mitted to  his  trust."  And  there  is  abundant  rea- 
son for  this.  For  the  powers  that  be  are  or- 
dained of  God,  and  in  his  providence  are  placed 
in  authority;  "not  as  the  modern  notion  is,  for 
the  purpose  of  executing  the  will  of  the  con- 
stitutents,  whatever  that  will  may  be,  but  rather 
the  unchangeable  will  of  the  Most  Holy  God, 
the  Ruler  of  all  nations,  so  far  as  revealed,  con- 
cerning the  civil  and  social  relations  of  men." 

Official  prominence,  then,  has  its  special  dan- 
gers. But  the  loyal  far  outnumber  the  betrayers. 
Do  not  let  us  forget  the  faithful  standard-bearers. 

2.  Mere  prudential  policy.  When  Mary 
anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus  with  the  precious 
spikenard,  Judas  Iscariot  asked,  ''Why  was  not 
this  ointment  sold  for  three  hundred  pence,  and 
given  to  the  poor?"  "There  are  men,"  says 
Joseph  Parker,  "who  never  take  other  than  an 
arithmetical    view    of    things.      They    account 


Temptah'o7is  of  Ad'}ninistration  263 

themselves  sharp  if  they  can  save  a  shilling  from 
going  in  what  they  call  the  wrong  way.  They 
are  'prudent'  men,  'safe'  men,  men  of  discretion 
and  judgment,  men  gifted  in  mental  arithmetic, 
who  in  a  trice  can  give  you  the  arithmetical  value 
of  a  poem,  or  put  Love  into  scales  and  tell  you 
her  exact  substance  in  avoirdupois  or  troy 
weight.  They  are  the  keen  economists  of  the 
Church ;  they  get  near  enough  to  Christ  to  ascer- 
tain the  texture  of  his  garments,  and  to  calcu- 
late the  value  of  his  seamless  vesture.  You  find 
such  men  in  all  Churches,  and  a  superficial  world 
calls  them  sharp,  shrewd,  and  successful." 

There  is  great  danger  just  here.  There  is 
great  danger  from  what  has  been  called  the 
"commercial  antichrist" — ''the  sense  in  men's 
hearts  that  religion  is  a  very  good  thing  in  its 
way,  but  that  there  are  primary  ends  first  to  be 
reached;  that  there  is,  after  all,  a  real  power  in 
the  world,  and  that  is  the  power  of  material  pros- 
perity, which  has  to  be  attended  to  first."  This 
worship  of  the  commercial  antichrist  is  eating 
the  hearts  and  lives  out  of  men.  Judas  could  not 
understand  that  there  are  some  offerings  which 
can  not  be  sold,  but  which  "lose  all  their  sacred- 
ness  the  moment  you  put  them  under  the  auc- 
tioneer's hammer;"  that  in  this  instance  the  ala- 
baster-box must  be  broken  in  the  giving,  and 
that  there  are  offerings  the  value  of  which  the 


264  Individuality 


giver  never  counts.  Its  value  in  the  market  gave 
to  the  spikenard  its  only  worth  in  the  eyes  of 
Judas.  The  manufacturer  and  retailer  of  it  could 
be  justified,  for  they  made  it  only  a  means  of 
gain ;  but  not  Mary,  who  poured  it  out  like  water 
in  the  mere  gratification  of  sentiment.  Yet 
surely  if  the  dignity  of  human  existence  is  recog- 
nized, we  may  plead  for  a  generous,  while  just, 
expenditure  upon  all  that  can  sweeten  and  lend 
grace  to  Hfe. 

"To  value  only  what  can  be  *sold,'  "  says  Sir 
John  Herschel,  "is  to  appreciate  least  what  in 
nature  and  man  is  most  glorious,  and  most 
capable  of  affording  exquisite  and  perfect  satis- 
faction. .  .  .  The  innocent  joy  of  child- 
hood, the  generous  enthusiasm  of  youth,  the 
strength  of  wisdom,  the  serenity  of  a  holy  trust 
in  God — in  what  earthly  market  can  these 
blessed  things  of  the  Spirit  be  bought  or  sold? 
With  what  coin  can  you  purchase  the  tenderness 
of  sympathy,  the  confidence  of  friendship,  the  de- 
votion of  love?  The  things  that  can  not  be 
bartered,  the  price  of  which  no  merchant  quotes, 
the  value  of  which  no  figures  can  express,  which 
no  thief  can  steal,  and  no  moth  and  rust  corrupt, 
alone  form  the  wealth  of  the  soul." 

3.  Avarice.  This  was  the  sin  of  Judas.  It 
was  closely  allied  to  the  talent  with  which  he  was 
specially  gifted.    It  is  a  general  rule,  that  a  man's 


Temptations  of  Administration  265 

richest  endowments  and  his  besetting  sins  He 
in  close  proximity — the  latter  develop  from  the 
abuse  of  the  former.  Judas's  sin  also  found 
nourishment  in  the  self-interest  with  which  he 
turned  his  gifts  for  financiering  into  money,  and 
his  office  as  manager  of  their  common  treasury 
afforded  it  only  too  easy  nurture.  The  fearful 
lesson  which  the  conduct  of  Judas  teaches  us  is, 
the  intimate  relation  which,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  exists  between  appropriating  to  one's  self 
the  goods  given  to  us  in  charge  for  Christ  and 
his  poor,  and  the  betrayal  of  Christ  himself,  be- 
tween avarice  and  treason  to  Christ.  The  latter 
of  these  is  the  necessary  consequence  of  the 
former;  not  the  accidental,  but  the  moral  conse- 
quence; not  in  Judas  only,  but  in  every  man. 
Betrayal  of  Christ,  in  some  form  or  other,  fol- 
lows the  love  of  money  as  regularly  and  as  cer- 
tainly as  night  follows  day. 

We  do  well  to  mark  the  snares  which  attend 
the  possession  and  fingering  of  money.  The 
possession  of  money  is  evidently  not  in  itself 
sinful  and  wicked.  It  is  not  the  having,  but  the 
misusing  money  which  is  sinful.  So  long  as  a 
man  feels  and  knows,  "I  am  laboring  for  wealth 
as  a  means  of  doing  good,"  he  may  labor  with 
comparative  safety;  but  the  moment  he  has  an 
ambition  to  be  rich,  he  has  passed  the  line  of 
safety — he  has  crossed  the  equator  into  a  "region 


266  Iiidividiiahty 


where  fierce  tornadoes  sweep  over  him,  all  un- 
bidden and  unheralded."  "They  that  will  be 
rich" — not  they  that  desire  to  be  rich;  not  they 
that  seek  riches;  but  ''they  that  will  be  rich  fall 
into  temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many  fool- 
ish and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  de- 
struction and  perdition."  The  spirit  of  the 
Lord's  teaching  is  not  that  it  is  wicked  to  seek 
wealth,  but  the  men  that  make  riches  the  chief 
end  of  life,  that  are  willing  to  give  everything, 
and  to  sacrifice  everything  for  them — it  is  of 
such  that  the  Word  of  God  speaks ;  they  are  in 
such  peril,  and  are  laid  under  such  reprehension. 
And  then  comes  that  maxim  that  is  now  world- 
wide :  "The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil : 
which  while  some  have  coveted  after,  they  have 
erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  themselves 
through  with  many  sorrows."  It  is  not  true  that 
all  evil  springs  from  this  cause ;  but  it  is  true  that 
there  is  no  evil  to  which,  at  one  time  or  another, 
the  love  of  money  has  not  tempted  men. 

How  many  snares  surround  the  rich  man! 
What  risks  does  he  run  of  violating  the  most 
sacred  laws,  of  forgetting  God,  of  indulging  his 
sensual  appetites,  of  despising  the  poor,  of  op- 
pressing the  weak,  of  hardening  his  heart,  of  be- 
coming insensible  to  the  misery  of  others !  Pros- 
perity is  a  very  dangerous  position.  "It  is  not 
the  man  who  has  lost  his  property,"  says  one, 


Temptations  of  Adrninistration  267 

"who  is  most  likely  to  forget  God,  but  the  man 
who  has  obtained  a  fortune,  or  made  a  most 
successful  speculation,  or  had  left  to  him  a  large 
property.  It  is  not  the  empty  cup  that  we  have 
any  difficulty  in  holding,  but  it  requires  the  ut- 
most nicety  to  balance  the  cup  that  is  full  to  the 
brim." 

When  the  love  of  money  becomes  in  any  man 
a  dominant  principle  of  action,  the^'-  is  an  end 
of  all  hope  of  his  ever  attaining  the  true  excel- 
lence of  an  intelligent  and  moral  being.  In  the 
very  act  of  yielding  himself  to  this  principle,  he 
becomes,  in  the  sight  of  God,  an  idolater.  The 
Bible  discerns  and  disapproves  of  this  evil  spirit 
under  its  various  manifestations — whether  it  ap- 
pears in  the  worldly  woman,  who  delights  in 
money  as  a  means  of  display  and  dissipation ;  or 
in  the  man,  who  values  it  as  a  stepping-stone  for 
his  ambition;  or  in  the  old  miser,  who  loves  it 
for  its  own  sake.  The  idol  may  be  pleasing  or 
contemptible,  but  it  is  the  same  idol,  and  all 
these  avaricious  ones  meet  in  this  common  point 
— they  seek  their  life  in  their  possessions.  There 
are  many  sins,  as  was  manifest  among  the  other 
disciples,  which  are  not  incompatible  with  the 
practice  of  noble  virtues,  but  avarice  is  not  one 
of  that  class.  Avarice  in  the  soul  will  destroy 
every  virtue,  compassion,  sympathy,  and  love; 
it  will  extinguish  all  spiritual  light  within  a  man ; 


268  Individuality 


it  is  destructive  to  every  power  by  which  the 
higher  truths  may  be  discerned,  and  to  all  capac- 
ity for  spiritual  influence.  Selfishness  over- 
reaches itself.  In  grasping  at  the  present,  it  loses 
the  future;  in  thinking  only  of  self,  it  loses  all 
hold  upon  others;  in  caring  only  for  the  body, 
it  loses  the  soul.  In  our  Lord's  warning  against 
greed  (Luke  xii,  15-40),  four  arguments  against 
it  are  put  before  us:  First.  It  leads  to  a  false 
conception  of  life.  Life  is  not  abundance  of  pos- 
sessions. Second.  It  forgets  Divine  Providence, 
and  substitutes  a  human  providence.  Third.  It 
prevents  a  true  self-providence  laying  up  treasure 
in  heaven.  Fourth.  It  practically  denies  steward- 
ship. But  the  Bible  teaches  that  God's  patent- 
right  is  stamped  on  everything.  God  gave  it; 
we  did  not  get  it ;  he  continues  it  in  our  hands ; 
we  do  not  keep  it ;  he  will  call  us  to  account  for  it. 
"Take  heed,  and  beware  of  covetousness." 
Covetousness  is  a  deceptive  sin.  The  same  may 
be  said,  indeed,  of  all  sins;  but  of  this  more 
specially,  because  it  is  a  decent  sin.  Other  sins 
alarm,  because  of  their  interference  with  the  pas- 
sions and  interests  of  our  neighbors;  and  have, 
on  that  account,  discredit  and  shame  attached  to 
them.  But  where  is  the  disgrace  of  covetous- 
ness? How  regular  a  man  may  be,  how  sober, 
how  industrious,  how  moral,  and  yet  be  the 
slave  of  this  vice!    Spurgeon  tells  of  a  conver- 


Temptations  of  Administration  269 

sation  which  he  had  with  a  person  whom  he  be- 
lieved to  be  one  of  the  most  covetous  individuals 
in  his  acquaintance.  He  asked  him  this  ques- 
tion, "How  was  it  that  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  who 
was  an  eminent  confessor,  found  that  persons 
confessed  to  him,  in  private,  all  sorts  of  horrible 
sins,  such  as  adultery,  drunkenness,  and  mur- 
der, but  never  had  one  person  confessed  the  sin 
of  covetousness?"  The  man  made  him  this  an- 
swer, "I  suppose  it  is  because  the  sin  is  so  ex- 
tremely rare."  ''Blind  soul!"  exclaims  Spur- 
geon;  "I  told  him  that,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
feared  the  sin  was  so  very  common  that  people 
did  not  know  when  they  were  covetous,  and  that 
the  man  who  was  most  covetous  of  all  was  the 
last  person  to  suspect  himself  of  it.  I  feel  per- 
suaded that  it  is  so.  Covetousness  breeds  an 
insensibility  of  the  heart,  a  mortification  in  the 
conscience,  a  blindness  in  the  mind.  It  is  as 
hard  to  convict  a  man  of  it  as  to  make  a  deaf 
ear  hear  of  its  own  deficiencies."  O !  let  us  be- 
ware of  nursing  the  very  beginnings  of  this  sin. 
Our  Lord  doubles  his  caution;  not  saying, 
"Take  heed"  alone,  or  "beware"  only;  but, 
"Take  heed"  and  "beware,"  both.  This  argues 
that  there  is  a  strong  inclination  in  our  natures 
to  this  sin,  the  great  danger  we  are  in  of  falling 
into  it,  and  of  what  fatal  consequences  it  is  to 
them  in  whom  this  sin  reigns. 


XVIII 


pirtt-jTilleti  9ltitntnistratttje 


271 


The  Holy  Ghost  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  has  occu- 
pied an  entirely  new  position.  The  whole  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  since  that  day 
devolved  upon  him.  .  .  .  That  day  was  the  installation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Administrator  of  the  Church  in 
all  things,  which  office  he  is  to  exercise,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, at  his  discretion.  It  is  as  vested  with  such 
authority  that  he  gives  his  name  to  this  dispensation. 

—James  Elder  Cumming^  D.  D. 
272 


^pitiMiim  aumini'sjtmtitje  ability 

The  assertion  has  been  made  that  if,  by  some 
mistake,  the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts  had  been 
omitted,  and  the  story  of  the  apostles  as  we  have 
it  in  the  closing  chapters  of  the  Gospels  had 
been  immediately  followed  by  the  history  of 
these  same  apostles  as  they  stand  transfigured 
with  light  in  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  chapters 
of  the  Acts,  then  any  intelligent  man  would  have 
said :  "I  do  n't  understand  it ;  something  must 
have  happened.  There  must  have  been  the  loss 
of  some  leaf  from  the  old  manuscripts.  Some- 
thing must  have  happened  which  has  wrought 
this  wonderful  transformation."  How  natural 
that  conception !  The  second  chapter  of  the 
Acts  is  the  explanation  of  all  that  follows ;  with- 
out it  there  is  no  other  explanation.  As  man 
after  man  comes  to  the  front — apostle  or  deacon, 
evangelist  or  prophet — one  after  another  is  de- 
scribed as  ''full  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and  this  is 
the  secret  of  the  wonders  performed.  The 
names  of  Lebbasus  (also  called  Judas,  the  brother 
of  James)  and  of  Simon  Zelotes  never  occur  in 
the  Acts  after  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Judas  Is- 
cariot  was  dead.  Hence  nothing  is  told  us  of 
the  results  of  the  pentecostal  blessing  on  the 
i8  273 


274  Individimlity 


men  of  this  fourth  group.  And  yet  that  two  of 
them — Lebbseus  and  Simon  Zelotes — reaHzed 
the  promise  of  the  Father  fulfilled  in  the  upper 
room  at  Jerusalem,  we  can  not  question.  They 
were  Spirit-filled  as  well  as  Peter  and  John  and 
James.  The  tongue  of  fire  rested  on  each  of 
them.  And  we  do  know  the  mind  of  the  Spirit 
respecting  men  of  administrative  ability. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  Price  Hughes,  of  London, 
has  been  studying  what  he  calls  "The  Social 
Gospel  of  Joel."  He  asserts  that,  beyond  the 
great  spiritual  blessing  which  was  realized  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  Joel  promised,  with  pro- 
phetic insight  and  foresight,  a  millennial  period 
of  social  salvation  or  civic  righteousness.  Ill- 
informed  Christians  imagine  that  there  is  noth- 
ing beyond  the  "prophetic"  blessing,  and  that 
the  utmost  we  are  entitled  to  expect  in  this  world 
is  a  series  of  great  spiritual  revivals,  accom- 
panied by  numerous  personal  conversions.  But, 
says  Joel — as  is  unmistakably  manifest,  if  you 
continue  to  read  and  ponder  his  words — that  is 
not  all.  Pentecost  is  not  an  end  in  itself;  it  is 
a  means  to  an  end.  The  first  result  of  Pentecost 
is  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  but  the  second 
result  is  the  rebuilding  and  reconstruction  of 
Jerusalem;  and  the  final  outcome  of  "the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  Jehovah"  is,  that  "Jerusalem 
shall  be  holy,"  and  no  invaders  from  the  east  or 


Spirit-fdlcd  Administrative  Ability       275 

from  the  west  shall  pass  through  her  streets  any 
more.  (Joeliii,  17.)  This  is  the  ultimate  goal — 
a  holy  city;  not  merely  holy  individuals  and 
groups  of  holy  individuals,  but  a  holy  city.  It 
is  obvious  that  the  complete  program  of  Joel 
could  not  be  carried  out  in  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles. This,  doubtless,  is  the  explanation  why 
the  special  work  of  Simon  Zelotes,  as  a  Chris- 
tian politician  and  statesman,  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  Acts.  ''Christianity  was  at  first,  and  for 
many  generations,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes, 
"not  sufficiently  widespread  and  powerful  to  re- 
alize the  Divine  ideal.  But  the  best  and  most 
devout  Christians  in  all  ages  have  been  more  or 
less  conscious  that  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  'upon  all  flesh'  should  be  followed,  not 
only  by  individual  conversions,  strife,  and  perse- 
cution, but  by  the  gradual  reconstruction  of  a 
Christian  society.  Savonarola  realized  that  in 
Florence,  Calvin  realized  it  in  Geneva,  John 
Knox  realized  it  in  Edinburgh,  the  best  popes 
realized  it  in  Rome.  The  fatal  demand  of  the 
papacy  for  temporal  power  is  a  perversion  and 
caricature  of  the  program  of  Christianity.  Not 
in  Rome  only,  under  the  sovereignty  of  a  bishop, 
but  in  every  city  and  in  every  land,  the  social 
gospel  of  Joel  must  be  realized.  Because  we 
Christians  have  failed  to  realize  this,  the  major- 
ity of  the   men   of  every  nominally   Christian 


276  Individuality 


country  are  outside  the  Christian  Church  to-day ; 
and  the  Socialistic  movement,  which  is  the  great 
fact  and  the  great  peril  of  modern  society,  is  so 
often  fiercely  antichristian.  In  our  other- 
worldliness  and  exaggerated  individualism  we 
have  forgotten  that  the  ideal  set  forth  by  the 
prophet  Joel,  and  by  every  other  prophet  of 
God,  is  not  merely  numerous  individual  conver- 
sions, but  a  'holy  city,'  a  righteous  and  Chris- 
tian society,  where  law,  custom,  and  opinion  are 
brought  into  beautiful  harmony  with  the 
thoughts  and  purposes  of  God." 

The  universally  felt  want  of  the  times  is  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  for  the  regeneration  of  soci- 
ety. And  possibly  it  is  not  too  great  a  prophecy 
to  say  that  the  next  widespread  revival  will  be  a 
sociological  one.  Already  a  new  interest  in 
social  questions  has  sprung  up.  It  has  been  well 
said:  "The  movements  of  social  reform  which 
characterize  our  times  are  not  born  altogether 
of  social  discontent.  They  have  a  deeper  origin. 
They  are  at  bottom  spiritual  movements,  spring- 
ing from  a  desire  for  better  things  begotten  in 
the  heart  of  the  race  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  And 
nothing  is  so  much  needed  to  forward  and  direct 
these  movements  as  Spirit-filled  statesmen — 
men  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  banded  together 
to  seek  no  personal  end,  but  to  "seek  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  and  to  realize  the  prophecy  of 


spirit-filled  Administrative  Ability       277 

Joel,  that  "jGi*usalem  shall  be  holy."  We  have  a 
profound  conviction  that,  v^ere  the  Holy  Spirit 
to-day  outpoured  in  such  a  manner  as  to  fill 
modern  Christians  as  Simon  Zelotes  was  once 
filled,  there  would  be  an  instant  discovery  and 
disclosure  of  current  civic  evils  that  are  now 
glossed  over  with  popularity  and  respectability, 
and  a  new  sense  of  awful  peril  that  would  multi- 
ply Spirit-filled  reformers,  working  in  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  for  the  bringing  in  the  reign  of 
social  righteousness.  ^'The  Lord  of  the  times," 
says  F.  R.  Hasse,  "is  God;  the  turning  point  of 
the  times  is  Christ ;  the  true  Spirit  of  the  times  is 
the  Holy  Spirit." 

The  Holy  Spirit's  active  administration  in  the 
temporalities  of  the  Church  is  also  clearly  seen 
in  apostolic  times.  Had  Judas  proved  faithful, 
and  been  one  of  those  who  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost were  'Tilled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  we  can 
imagine  the  wonderful  change  that  would  have 
been  wrought  in  his  naturally  avaricious  nature. 
All  selfish  love  of  wealth  ceased  and  passed  away 
forever  in  the  other  apostles.  Immediately  after 
Pentecost  the  following  description  occurs  of 
the  conduct  of  the  company  of  young  disciples : 
''All  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all 
things  common;  and  sold  their  possessions  and 
goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  men,  as  every  man 
had  need."     (Acts  ii,   44,  45.)     Presently  the 


278  Individitality 


further  record  follows:  "And  the  multitude  of 
them  that  beUeved  were  of  one  heart  and  of  one 
soul :  neither  said  any  of  them  that  aught  of  the 
things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own ;  but  they 
had  all  things  common.  .  .  .  Neither  was 
there  any  among  them  that  lacked :  for  as  many 
as  were  possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold  them, 
and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things  that  were 
sold,  and  laid  them  down  at  the  apostles'  feet: 
and  distribution  was  made  unto  every  man  ac- 
cording as  he  had  need."     (Acts  iv,  32,  34,  35.) 

Without  compulsion  and  for  the  benefit  of 
all,  their  goods  and  lands  were  sold,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds thrown  into  a  common  fund.  This  state 
of  things,  of  course,  could  only  last  for  a  short 
time,  and  ought  not  to  have  continued ;  but  it  is 
adduced  here  to  show  that  the  love  of  Christ  did 
cure  most  perfectly  the  love  of  wealth.  And  per- 
fect love,  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the 
heart,  always  has  cured,  and  always  will  cure, 
inordinate  love  of  the  world.  ''For  whoso  loveth 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him." 

Renan  regards  these  early  communistic 
phases  as  showing  a  "surprising  resemblance  to 
certain  Utopian  experiments  of  modern  times; 
but,"  he  adds,  "with  the  important  difference 
that  Christian  communism  rested  on  a  religious 
basis,  which  is  not  the  case  with  modern  social- 
ism.    It  is  evident  that  an  association  whose 


spirit-filled  Administrative  Ability       279 

dividends  were  declared,  not  in  proportion  to 
the  capital  subscribed,  but  in  proportion  to  in- 
dividual needs,  must  rest  only  upon  a  sentiment 
of  exalted  abnegation  and  an  ardent  faith  in  a 
religious  idea."  Such  a  confession  from  such  a 
source  is  an  invaluable  acknowledgment  of  the 
transcendent  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  inspire 
men  with  lofty  and  self-sacrificing  sympathy 
with  the  woes  and  wants  of  mankind. 

Furthermore,  we  know  what  kind  of  men 
were  afterwards  chosen  to  do  the  work  that  nat- 
urally fell  to  Judas.  He  was  dead ;  the  temporal 
part  of  the  work  needed  other  men  of  adminis- 
trative qualifications.  The  sixth  chapter  of  the 
Acts  introduces  the  appointment  of  such  men; 
and  we  are  taught  that  the  central  qualification 
is  that  they  be  men  ''full  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
The  record  is:  ''Wherefore,  brethren,  look  ye 
out  from  among  you  seven  men  of  honest  re- 
port, full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom 
we  may  appoint  over  this  business?"  (Acts  vi,  3.) 
The  "business"  of  these  men  was  to  look  after 
temporal  affairs;  and  yet  even  for  this  business 
they  must  be  "full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  They 
must  be  "honest."  Judas  once  "kept  the  bag;" 
but  he  was  a  thief.  It  is  therefore  of  great  con- 
sequence that  men  of  strict  integrity  be  put  into 
this  office.  They  must  also  have  "wisdom ;"  they 
must  be  men  of  business  common  sense  and 


28o  Individuality 


quality.  That  a  man  is  honest  and  pious  is  not 
enough.  These  seven  were  chosen,  doubtless, 
because  they  were  naturally  qualified ;  they  were 
better  able  to  serve  tables  than  the  apostles;  all 
have  not  the  same  gifts. 

But  with  all  these  natural  qualifications  for 
the  management  of  temporal  concerns,  they 
must  be  ''full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  must  not 
be  supposed  that  mere  business  men  can  manage 
the  Church's  temporal  affairs.  They  have  a 
sacred  bearing;  they  must  be  conducted  on  holy 
principles,  and  be  directed  to  holy  ends.  Hence, 
as  Dr.  Pierson  says  in  his  ''Acts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit:"  "The  Spirit  of  God  does  not  surrender 
his  headship  in  the  Church  in  intrusting  to  hu- 
man hands  any  department  of  its  affairs.  Not 
only  so,  but  all  those  so  intrusted  must  be  ca- 
pable of  co-operation  with  him;  and  therefore 
they  who  in  his  name  are  to  administer  affairs 
must  themselves  be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  so  that 
in  their  ministry  may  be  seen  the  ministry  of  the 
Spirit  himself.  Even  an  office  that  deals  with 
temporalities  and  distributions  of  money  and 
food,  must  be  filled  by  Holy  Ghost  men.  'Secu- 
lar men'  have  absolutely  no  place  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
all  of  which  are  'sacred'  to  the  Holy  Spirit." 

The  judicious  management  of  money  requires 
the  special  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     It  is  popu- 


Spirit-fdled  Administrative  Ability       281 

larly  imagined  that  if  a  man  is  "full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  he  can  not  attend  to  temporal  affairs. 
Never  was  there  a  greater  mistake.  Look  at 
Stephen.  He  is  chosen  to  ''serve  tables;"  and 
yet  he  is  called  "a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  There  are  no  merely  secular 
duties  in  the  Church.  Church  matters  are  not 
merely  matters  of  political  system.  There  is 
nothing  done  in  Christ's  Church — whether  ''the 
opening  of  a  door,  the  lighting  of  a  lamp,  or  the 
preaching  of  the  everlasting  gospel" — that  is 
not  to  be  done  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  "A  door  may  be  so  opened,"  says  Dr. 
Joseph  Parker,  "as  to  affront  the  Spirit  of  God; 
a  visitor  may  be  so  shown  to  a  seat  as  to  mani- 
fest a  truly  Christian  Spirit  on  the  part  of  the 
indicator.  There  is  no  part  of  our  work  in  any 
section  that  is  not  holy  unto  the  Lord." 

The  business  of  the  Church  in  all  its  depart- 
ments is  thus  under  the  management  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  when  thus  managed,  not  only  is 
it  well  managed,  but  "the  Word  of  God  is  in- 
creased." It  was  so  in  the  case  of  the  seven  dea- 
cons. Men  were  chosen  to  serve  tables — to  do 
common  things ;  but  they  were  found  doing  un- 
common things — working  signs  and  wonders 
among  the  people.  The  first  man  elected  was 
Stephen,  of  whom  it  is  expressly  said  that  he  was 
a  man  "full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;" 


282  Individuality 


and  Philip  was  the  second.  "About  these  two 
men,"  as  Dr.  Pierson  says,  ''how  much  of  the 
glorious  history  of  this  book  revolves !  Stephen 
was  the  first  martyr  of  the  apostolic  Church,  and 
Philip  the  first  of  its  lay  evangelists.  Those  two 
men,  originally  set  apart  for  a  purely  temporal 
office,  have  probably  influenced  the  spiritual  Hfe 
and  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ  more  than 
any  other  two  men  of  the  apostolic  age,  if  we 
except  Paul  and  Peter,  James  and  John,  Barna- 
bas and  Apollos.  To  Stephen's  martyrdom  we 
must  probably  trace  the  first  impressions  made 
upon  Saul  of  Tarsus.  Before  he  met  Jesus  in 
the  way  and  saw  his  glorified  face,  he  had  already 
seen  its  glory  reflected  in  the  shining  face  of  that 
angelic  martyr.  And  Philip,  though  a  mere  'lay- 
man,' was  the  instrument  chosen  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  confer  pentecostal  blessing  on  Samaria, 
and,  through  the  eunuch,  introduce  the  gospel 
into  Ethiopia ;  while  in  his  own  person  he  carried 
the  gospel  even  to  Cesarea,  and  prepared  the 
way  for  Peter  to  unlock  the  kingdom  to  the 
Romans!"  In  making  provision  to  have  Holy 
Ghost  men  caring  for  poor  widows,  how  little 
did  the  Church  foresee  the  resistless  wisdom  and 
spirit  with  which  Stephen  and  Philip  were  to 
administer  the  Word!  "The  disciples  chose 
Holy  Ghost  deacons,  and  got  Holy  Ghost  mar- 
tyrs and  evangelists ;  they  selected  men  to  serve 


spirit-filled  Administrative  Ability       283 

tables,  and  one  of  them  bore  a  face  that  shone 
as  the  face  of  an  angel,  and  amid  a  shower  of 
stones  he  fell  asleep,  like  his  Master,  with  a 
prayer  for  his  murderers  on  his  lips." 

This  is  the  strength  which  the  Church  needs 
to-day.  All  the  machinery  for  the  conversion 
of  the  world  is  in  its  hands;  but  it  needs  "the 
living  Spirit  in  the  wheels."  It  is  said  of  Thomas 
Aquinas,  the  angelical  doctor,  that  coming  one 
day  into  a  room  where  some  monks  were  count- 
ing heaps  of  gold-pieces,  they  said  to  him :  "The 
time  is  no  more  when  the  Church  has  to  say, 
'Silver  and  gold  have  I  none.'  "  To  which  he 
answered,  "Yes;  and  neither  can  it  say,  'In  the 
name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and  walk !'  " 
The  loss  or  the  absence  of  spiritual  power  can 
never  be  compensated  by  any  amount  of  money 
or  any  evidences  of  external  prosperity. 


XIX  i 

I 


Be  jTiUeti  \utt|)  tJje  Spirit 


It  is  a  great  mistake  into  which  some  have  fallen  to 
suppose  that  the  results  of  Pentecost  were  chiefly  miracu- 
lous and  temporary.  The  effect  of  such  a  view  is  to  keep 
spiritual  influences  out  of  sight;  and  it  will  be  well  ever 
to  hold  fast  the  assurance  that  a  wide,  deep,  and  perpetual 
spiritual  blessing  in  the  Church  is  that  which  above  all 
things  else  was  secured  by  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  after 
Christ  was  glorified.  —J.  Elder  Cumming,  D.  D. 


**OBe  fiUetJ  lojitl^  tl^e  ^pivit" 

Augustine  calls  the  day  of  Pentecost  the 
''Dies  Natalis''— "the  birthday"  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  and  for  the  same  reason  that  Christmas 
is  called  ''the  birthday"  of  Jesus  Christ.  Then 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  in  his  official  capac- 
ity; so  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  Holy  Ghost 
came  into  the  world  in  his  official  capacity.  "He 
dwelleth  with  you  and  shall  be  in  you''  said 
Jesus,  speaking  anticipatively  of  the  coming  of 
the  Comforter ;  and  he  is  spoken  of,  after  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  as  being  in  the  Church.  Dr.  A.  J. 
Gordon  calls  it  "Incarnated  in  the  Church." 
"As  the  leather  revealed  himself  through  the 
Son,  so  the  Son  by  the  Holy  Spirit  now  reveals 
himself  through  the  Church;  as  Christ  was  the 
image  of  the  invisible  God,  so  the  Church  is  ap- 
pointed to  be  the  image  of  the  invisible  Christ." 
The  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  Divine  Person,  is  now 
dwelling  in  the  Church,  and  is  to  be  honored, 
invoked,  obeyed,  and  implicitly  trusted.  The 
coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  took  place  once  for 
all  on  the  day  of  Pentecost;  and  yet  it  remains 
for  every  believer  to  appropriate  the  gift. 

When  about  to  pass  back  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  to  be  hidden  from  men's  eyes  for  a  little 
287 


288  Individuality 


while,  we  hear  from  Christ's  Hps  the  blessed 
truth  that  ''ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
witnesses  unto  me;"  and  "in  ten  days  from  that 
time,"  it  has  been  truly  said,  "a  third  great  series 
of  manifestations  commences.  No  longer  do 
men  see  the  form  of  the  Son  of  God,  but  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  sons  of  God. 
Jehovah-Elohim  had  appeared  unto  man;  Je- 
hovah-Jesus had  appeared  for  man ;  and  now,  in 
the  Church  and  in  the  fullness  of  his  power,  the 
Jehovah-Spirit  appeared  in  man."  The  teach- 
ing and  power  of  Divine  truth  culminate  in  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Read  from  the  twenty- 
second  verse  of  the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts. 
With  ''masterly  speed,"  Peter  "lifts  tier  above 
tier  the  stately  fabric"  of  the  new  doctrine :  the 
manifestation  of  God  in  the  flesh,  the  crucifixion, 
resurrection,  ascension,  and  exaltation  at  the 
right  hand  of  God ;  but  he  crowns  the  whole  by 
declaring,  "Having  received  of  the  Father  the 
promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth 
this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  And  the 
Book  of  Acts  is  replete  with  the  records  of  per- 
sons who  were  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
The  experience  was  repeated  to  the  Church  in 
each  new  crisis ;  and  almost  every  great  conquest 
recorded  in  the  Acts  is  introduced  by  the  words, 
"And  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 


Be  Filled  ivith  the  Spirit 


Furthermore,  the  gift  of  Spirit-power  is  not 
less  for  all  Christians  to-day  than  at  Pentecost. 
There  was  an  open  heaven  then ;  is  there  not  an 
open  heaven  now?  Pentecost  was  once  for  all; 
but  equally  the  appropriation  of  the  Spirit  by 
believers  is  always  for  all.  Nay,  further,  it  is 
God's  command:  *'Be  filled  with  the  Spirit." 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  one  supreme  need  of  the 
Church.  He  is  the  Gospel.  But  he  can  not,  he 
wall  not,  reveal  himself.  The  ofBce  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  to  communicate  Christ  to  us — Christ 
in  all  his  entireness.  "When  he,  the  Spirit  of 
Truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth; 
for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself;  but  whatsoever 
he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak;  and  he  will 
show  you  things  to  come.  He  shall  glorify  me ; 
for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it 
unto  you."     (John  xvi,  13,  14.) 

Moreover,  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit  is  the 
source  of  every  other  mode  of  fullness  for  which 
the  believer  hungers.  One  says,  "I  want  the 
fullness  of  love,  or  the  fullness  of  assurance,  or 
the  fullness  of  joy,  or  some  other  form  of  spirit- 
ual fullness."  Let  him  receive  the  fullness  of  the 
Spirit,  and  in  him  there  will  come  every  mode  of 
fullness  which  he  can  impart.  Filled  with  zeal, 
with  faith  and  love ;  filled  with  meekness,  gentle- 
ness, patience;  filled  with  power.  All  this  is 
gathered  up  in  one  word — "Be  filled  with  the 
19 


»90  Indiv/dita/tVv 


Spirit."  Zacharias,  Paul.  Barnabas,  Stephen, 
and  hundreds  of  the  early  disciples,  were  "full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  this  is  the  preparation  "for 
every  good  work." 

If  this  Pentecostal  blessing  is  essential  to  a 
full-orbed  and  Scriptural  Christian  life,  how  can 
it  be  obtained?  What  are  the  conditions  upon 
which  it  may  become  ours?  The  supernatural 
has  its  laws  as  well  as  the  natural.  Christ  does 
not  give  the  Spirit  to  an  unprepared  soul.  He 
could  fwty  and  therefore  it  is  of  supreme  conse- 
quence to  ask  the  question,  "What  is  needed  if 
I  am  to  be  filled  ^rith  the  Spirit?"  Let  us  try 
and  find  a  satisfactory  answer  to  this  question. 

I.  We  must  come  to  see  and  believe  that  the 
Spirit-iillcd  life  is  a  f'ossibility.  Andrew  Alurray, 
in  his  "Spiritual  Life,"  says:  "A  great  many  peo- 
ple will  say  in  a  creed  that  they  believe  in  the 
Holy  Ghost.  They  have  no  doubt  about  the 
existence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  he  is  the 
Third  Person  of  the  Blessed  Godhead.  They 
are  orthodox  on  all  these  points :  but  it  is  an  in- 
tellectual belief.  They  practically  do  not  be- 
lieve in  what  the  Holy  Ghost  can  do  in  a  believer 
ever}-  day  of  his  life.  A  man  must  be  brought  to 
see  that  there  is  a  spiritual  life  within  his  reach; 
that  there  is  a  spiritual  life  which  it  is  his  duty 
to  live;  that  there  is  a  spiritual  life  he  is  in  need 
of  and  may  claim.     There  is  a  life  in  the  Spirit, 


Be  Filled  with  the  Spirit  291 


.     .     .     (^joA  commands  me  to  be  spiritual,  and, 

by  the  grace  of  God,  just  as  certainly  as  Christ's 
blood  flowed  for  my  sins,  so  Christ's  Spirit  can 
lead  me  down  into  the  place  of  absolute  helpless- 
ness, where  he  will  live  in  me  in  his  Divine 
power,  and  renew  my  whole  nature  into  spirit- 
ual." If  a  Christian  has  never  been  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  should  recognize  and  admit 
it.  It  is  utterly  useless  to  attempt  to  help  those 
who  think  they  are  spiritually  '"rich,"  and  in- 
creased with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing. 
2.  W'e  must  consent  to  make  room  for  the 
Holy  Spirit.  We  do  that  when  we  consent  that 
everything  inimical  to  his  presence  shall  go  out 
of  our  hearts.  If  we  are  living  in  known  dis- 
obedience, all  our  prayers  to  be  filled  with  the 
Spirit  will  be  in  vain.  Fasting  and  prayers  will 
be  to  no  purpose.  The  great  difificulty  is  not 
that  Christians  do  not  ask.  In  almost  every 
prayer  we  hear  believers  pleading  to  be  filled 
w^ith  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  real  difficulty  is  that 
sin  hinders.  It  may  be  some  known  neglect  of 
duty  which  God  has  laid  upon  our  conscience, 
or  the  permission  of  some  secret  sin,  or  even 
cherishing  an  unforgiving  spirit  or  a  selfish  am- 
bition. But  if  we  desire  to  be  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  there  must  be  a  cheerful  and  whole- 
hearted self-yielding  to  him.  "All  his  power  is 
at  the  disposal  of  every  believer  who  is  first  at 


292  htdividuality 


his  disposal."  This  self-yielding  involves  three 
things :  the  surrendered  will;  the  yielded  body;  the 
emptied  heart.  Everything  that  grieves  the 
Spirit  must  be  put  away.  He  must  have  right 
of  way.  ''We  must  be  emptied  of  self,"  is  a  com- 
mon form  of  stating  it. 

"I  believe  firmly,"  says  Mr.  Moody,  ''that  the 
moment  our  hearts  are  emptied  of  pride,  and 
selfishness,  and  ambition,  and  self-seeking,  and 
everything  contrary  to  God's  law,  the  Holy 
Ghost  will  come  and  fill  every  corner  of  our 
hearts;  but  if  we  are  full  of  pride,  and  conceit, 
and  ambition,  and  self-seeking,  and  pleasure,  and 
the  world,  there  is  no  room  for  the  Spirit  of  God ; 
and  I  believe  many  a  man  is  praying  to  God  to 
fill  him,  when  he  is  full  already  with  something 
else.  Before  we  pray  that  God  would  fill  us,  I 
believe  we  ought  to  pray  him  to  empty  us." 
And  is  not  this  the  key  to  the  situation  f  This 
negative  aspect  of  the  Spirit's  infilling  is  the 
crucial  point.  But  let  no  man  imagine  that  he 
can  succeed  in  emptying  his  own  heart  of  "pride, 
selfishness,  and  everything  contrary  to  God's 
law." 

David  B.  Updegraff,  in  his  book  called  "Old 
Corn,"  quotes  from  a  noted  public  speaker  of 
our  day,  who  gave  this  advice:  "Brother,  you 
will  never  be  worth  anything  until  you  get  your- 
self down,  and  get  your  feet  squarely  down  on 


Be  Filled  zvitJi  the  Spirit  293 

yourself,  and  say,  'You  lie  there;  if  you  dare 
get  up,  I  will  mash  you  right  in  the  mouth.'  " 
"Now/'  says  Mr.  Updegraff,  ''that  is  good,  and  I 
wish  him  joy  in  his  victory,  but  give  due  notice 
that  that  old  self,  composed  as  he  is  of  many 
members, — pride,  ambition,  anger,  envy,  deceit, 
covetousness,  and  lusts  of  all  sorts, — will  never 
take  it  into  his  head  to  die  in  that  position.  Nor 
will  he  ever  vacate  and  give  peaceable  posses- 
sion. Not  only  so,  he  will  stand  an  infinite 
amount  of  'mouth  smashing,'  and  yet  enjoy  vig- 
orous health,  and  those  feet  must  never  be  re- 
moved for  an  instant,  or  other  scenes  of  wrest- 
ling must  ensue." 

O,  what  a  mistake  we  make  right  here !  God 
never  delegated  power  to  the  human  will  to 
smash  or  choke  sin.  We  put  will-power  where 
Divine  power  ought  to  go.  If  our  hearts  are 
really  to  be  emptied  of  "everything  that  is  con- 
trary to  God's  law,"  he  is  the  One  that  is  to  do 
it.  These  evil  spirits  are  stronger  than  we. 
They  do  not  go  out  at  our  bidding,  as  many  of 
us  have  learned  by  sad  experience.  Who  of  us 
has  not  said  to  anger,  jealousy,  hatred,  or  other 
wrong  temper  or  feelings,  "Begone !"  Yet  they 
have  staid.  But,  as  Dr.  Keen,  in  his  "Pente- 
costal Papers,"  has  pointed  out,  while  we  can 
not  expel  these  things,  we  can  consent  that  they 
shall  go;  and  then  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the 


294  Individuality 


Strong  Man  that  is  stronger  than  they  or  we, 
can,  by  his  incoming,  drive  them  from  the  tem- 
ple of  the  soul,  and  leave  it  flooded  with  the 
glory  of  his  presence,  a  habitation  of  God 
through  the  Spirit.  "The  filling  of  the  Spirit 
gets  uncleanness  out  of  the  heart,  just  as  nature 
gets  darkness  out  of  night.  The  sun  rises,  and 
the  darkness  flees;  so  the  coming  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  with  healing  in  his  wings,  and  brings 
the  day  whose  sun  is  to  go  no  more  down  in 
the  soul.  The  filling  with  the  Spirit  is  the  source 
and  coincident  of  the  cleansing  of  the  Spirit. 
He  cleanses  by  the  filling  of  the  Spirit.  The 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  simultaneously  fills 
and  cleanses  the  soul.  Let  us  just  now  consent 
that  all  sin  in  us  shall  depart,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
will  see  that  there  is  an  immediate  exodus  of  all 
evil.  He  will  come  in,  if  we  consent  to  make 
room  for  him." 

And,  then,  when  we  are  emptied  of  self,  we 
shall  be  ready  for  a  definite  consecration. 
Everything  for  God!  "Ye  are  not  your  own. 
For  ye  are  bought  with  a  price ;  therefore  glorify 
God  in  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are 
his."  The  purchaser  has  the  right  of  control 
over  the  purchase;  and  he  demands  its  exercise 
to  the  full.  The  whole  question  of  consecration 
becomes  a  mere  matter  of  honesty.  Theodore 
Monod  once  illustrated  this  most  practically :  A 


Be  Filled  with  the  Spirit  295 

man  is  passing  out  of  a  hall,  and  sees  some  one 
in  front  of  him  drop  a  piece  of  paper.  He  picks 
it  up,  and  discovers  that  it  is  a  five-pound  note. 
He  hesitates  a  moment  as  to  how  he  shall  deal 
v^ith  it,  and  then  says:  '1  will  give  that  man 
who  dropped  it  one  pound,  and  I  will  keep  four." 
But,  of  course,  his  conscience  interposes,  and 
tells  him  that  that  will  not  do.  ''Well,"  he  re- 
sumes in  thought,  ''I  will  give  him  four,  and 
only  keep  one  pound."  Conscience  objects 
again,  and  insists  on  more  than  this.  At  last, 
with  a  sigh,  the  finder  says:  "Then  I  will  do  a 
grand  thing;  I  will  consecrate  the  whole  five 
pounds  to  the  man  who  lost  it."  But  who  will 
say  that  even  that  was  a  very  grand  thing  after 
all?  Was  it  not  a  mere  matter  of  honesty  to 
give  the  man  what  was  his  own?  And  just  so 
the  matter  of  personal  consecration  is  reduced 
to  the  simple  element  of  honesty.  You  find 
yourself  to  be  the  ransomed  and  purchased  pos- 
session of  the  Savior ;  what  now  will  you  do  with 
this  treasure?  Be  honest,  and  you  can  only  do 
one  thing:  give  the  possession  to  him  who  pur- 
chased it,  and  treat  it  henceforth  as  his,  not 
yours. 

Are  we  ready  for  the  Spirit's  power?  There 
are  three  words  used  by  Dr.  Pierson  to  express 
another  thought,  but  which  we  appropriate  to 
cover  the  answer  to  that  question.     They  are 


296  Individiialiiy 


the  Vv'ords  ''reference,"  ''deference,"  and  "pref- 
erence." That  is  to  say,  when  there  are  the  sur- 
rendered will,  the  yielded  body,  and  the  emptied 
heart,  there  will  be  a  soul  that  lives  with  supreme 
reference  to  God,  with  supreme  deference  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  with  supreme  preference  for  the 
approbation  of  God.  Andrew  Murray  says :  "We 
want  to  get  possession  of  the  power,  and  use 
it ;  God  wants  the  power  to  get  possession  of  us, 
and  use  us.  If  we  will  give  ourselves  to  the 
power  to  rule  in  us,  the  power  will  give  itself  to 
us  to  rule  through  us."  We  are  waiting  to  be 
filled  with  power.  Perhaps  we  had  better  wait 
to  be  emptied. 

3.  There  must  be  the  asking  for  the  Spirit's 
fullness.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  only  promised  to 
those  who  ask.  It  was  the  supplicating  Church 
that  was  filled  with  the  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost. They  had  "continued  with  one  accord  in 
prayer  and  supplication."  A  second  time, 
"when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken, 
and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit." 
Christ  himself  received  the  Spirit  while  in  inter- 
cession with  the  Father.  "Jesus  also  having  been 
baptized  and  praying,  the  heaven  was  opened, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in  a  bodily  form 
as  a  dove  upon  him."  Even  Jesus  asked  for  the 
gift.  And  he  said,  "If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know 
how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children ;  how 


Be  Filled  with  the  Spirit  297 

much  more  shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him?"  Who  can 
measure  what  is  suggested  by  that  "how  much 
more?"  What  a  silent  reference  to  an  incon- 
ceivable depth  of  love  and  pity  in  the  heart  of 
God !  It  is  as  if  Christ  had  said  to  those  whom 
he  addressed,  You  can  not  understand  the  dif- 
ference— words  can  not  explain  the  difference — 
here  is  the  kind  of  thing,  in  yourselves;  but  in 
God,  "how  much  more!"  The  Holy  Ghost  is 
the  "gift"  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son.  This 
"gift"  is  free ;  it  is  to  be  had  for  the  asking.  We 
never  deserve  it.  We  can  never  grow  into  it. 
It  is  not  the  result  of  the  evolution  even  of  the 
Christian  life.  It  is,  therefore,  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  human  merit  in  any  shape  or  form. 
It  is  a  "gift ;"  but  it  is  a  gift  bestowed  only  upon 
those  who  "ask"  for  it.  There  must  be  a  definite 
asking;  there  must  be  an  urgent  asking;  there 
must  be  an  expectant  asking.  The  waiting  time 
of  the  apostles  has  been  called  "Expectation 
Week."  As  then,  so  now,  there  must  be  expec- 
tation. And  seeing  that  God  is  waiting  to  im- 
part the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask,  the  time 
of  waiting  need  not  be  long.  The  idea  of  man 
waiting  upon  God  must  not  overshadow  the 
equally  important  idea  of  God  waiting  upon 
man.  It  is  true  that  the  disciples  waited  ten  days 
upon  God  at  Pentecost,  but  it  is  equally  true 


298  Individuality 


that  God  waited  ten  days  upon  them.  The  prep- 
aration required  was  in  them,  not  in  him.  They 
did  not  wait  until  God  was  ready;  God  waited 
until  they  were  ready.  The  attitude  of  God 
towards  his  people  is  still  unchanged.  "The 
Lord  waits,  that  he  may  be  gracious." 

4.  We  are  to  claim  the  fullness  of  the  Spirit 
by  iaith.  Believers  are  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  a  conscious,  definite  act  of  appropriating 
faith,  just  as  they  received  Jesus  Christ.  Twice 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  this  empha- 
sized: "Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the  works  of 
the  law  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith?"  (iii,  2.) 
"That  we  might  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
through  faith,"  (iii,  14.)  Dr.  Gordon  says, 
"These  texts  seem  to  imply  that  just  as  there 
is  a  'faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ'  for  sal- 
vation, there  is  a  faith  toward  the  Holy  Ghost 
for  power  and  consecration."  In  other  words, 
just  as  we  received  by  faith  the  gift  of  righteous- 
ness from  the  hands  of  the  dying  Christ,  so  now 
we  must  take  by  faith  from  the  hands  of  the  risen 
and  enthroned  Christ  the  filling  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Jesus,  standing  in  the  midst  of  his  dis- 
ciples, said:  ''Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  "Be 
filled  with  the  Spirit,"  saith  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Note  that  the  command  is  in  the  passive  voice, 
"Be  filled ;"  that  is,  "Let  yourself  be  filled."  The 
fullness  is  pressing  upon  you ;  only  let  it  in !    We 


Be  Filled  with  the  Spirit  299 

must  consent  to  be  filled.  We  must  be  "willing;" 
ready  to  receive  the  "filling."  This  is  not  merely 
to  ask,  but  to  accept.  The  act  of  faith  is  in  the 
receiving.  God  says,  ''Be  filled" — accept  this 
blessing.  It  is  his  to  fill.  It  is  yours  to  believe, 
to  receive.  It  is  yours  to  keep  believing.  It  is 
God's  to  keep  you  filled. 

But  some  will  ask:  What  is  this  fullness  of 
the  Spirit?  What  is  the  experience?  How 
may  Christians  know  whether  or  not  they  are 
filled  with  the  Spirit?  These  are  important  ques- 
tions, and  call  for  an  answer.  And  once  for  all 
let  it  be  said,  The  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
does  not  make  the  believer  a  miracle-worker  or 
a  supernatural  prodigy.  It  does  two  things  in 
his  experience :  Enthrones  Christ  within ;  em- 
powers him  for  service. 

I.  The  Holy  Spirit  enthrones  Christ  within. 
The  Holy  Spirit  comes,  revealing  not  himself, 
but  Christ.  He  comes,  in  a  word,  as  "the  Spirit 
of  Jesus."  "He  will  not  speak  of  himself,"  said 
Christ  when  he  promised  the  Comforter,  but 
"He  shall  glorify  me ;  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine, 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you."  The  work  of  the 
Spirit  is  to  make  Jesus  vividly  real  to  us.  Pente- 
cost opened  the  eyes  of  the  apostles ;  they  knew 
their  Lord  then  as  they  had  not  known  him  in 
the  flesh;  he  was  a  hundred-fold  more  to  them 
from  that  hour  than  when  he  walked  with  them 


300  Individuality 


on  earth.  And  when  we  find  a  Christian  who 
has  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  what  is  it  that 
strikes  and  dehghts  us  in  him?  It  is  the  intense 
and  intimate  reaHty  of  Christ  in  his  experience. 
Christ  is  evidently  to  him  the  dearest  person  in 
the  universe.  He  talks  to  Christ.  He  dreads  to 
offend  Christ.  He  delights  to  please  Christ. 
His  whole  life  is  light  and  elastic  with  this  buoy- 
ant desire  of  doing  everything  for  Jesus,  as  Jesus 
would  wish  it  done.  Duty  has  simply  been 
transfigured  by  an  enthroned  Christ.  Spurgeon 
was  a  man  "full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  He  once 
said  that  if  for  any  consecutive  fifteen  minutes 
he  found  himself  without  a  consciousness  of 
Christ's  presence,  he  immediately  asked  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  make  him  conscious  of  his  Sa- 
vior's nearness.  O  the  sweetness  and  precious- 
ness  of  the  thoughts  of  Christ  with  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  continually  fills  the  Spirit-filled  soul ! 
The  manifestation  of  Christ  to  the  soul  of  the 
believer,  antecedent  to  the  anointing  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  is  largely  a  sense  of  Christ  in  what 
he  does;  but  subsequent  to  this  anointing,  it  is 
a  sense  of  Christ  in  what  he  is.  He  is  immedi- 
ately known  and  felt  as  a  presence  within.  This 
is  what  Paul  knew  when  he  says,  "God  was 
pleased  to  reveal  in  me  his  Son."  Amanda 
Smith  says  when  this  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ 
came    to   her   soul    she    was    satisfied.     It    was 


Be  Filled  wilh  the  Spirit  301 

enough.  Her  craving  for  blessing  left  her.  She 
had  seen  him — she  had  him. 

2.  The  Holy  Spirit  empowers  for  service. 
He  not  only  gives  us  more  of  Christ,  but  Christ 
more  of  us.  In  the  first  chapter  of  John's  Gospel 
we  read,  ''As  many  as  received  him"  (that  is, 
Christ),  ''to  them  gave  he  poiver  to  become  the 
sons  of  God."  There  is  sonship.  In  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Acts  we  read:  "But  ye  shall  re- 
ceive pozvcr  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come 
upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me." 
There  is  service.  Christ  for  salvation ;  the  Holy 
Spirit  for  service.  The  great  end  for  which  the 
enduement  of  the  Spirit  is  bestowed  is  our  quali- 
fication for  the  highest  and  most  effective  service 
in  the  Church.  Other  eiTects  will  certainly  at- 
tend the  blessing;  but  these  results  will  be  con- 
ducive to  the  greatest  and  supreme  end,  our  con- 
secrated usefulness. 

In  the  case  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there  is 
a  distinct  recognition  of  this  enduement  as  con- 
stituting his  preparation  for  his  work.  After  the 
visible  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  him  at 
the  Jordan,  we  read  that  he  "returned  in  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  into  Galilee."  Again,  in  the 
Acts,  we  hear  Peter  declaring  "how  God 
anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  imth  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  zvith  pozver,  who  went  about  doing  good  and 
healing  all   that  were  oppressed  of  the  devil." 


302  Individuality 


And  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  Jesus,  having 
given  to  his  disciples  their  great  commission, 
should  link  with  it  the  injunction,  ''Receive  ye 
the  Holy  Ghost."  It  teaches  us  that  ''the  pente- 
costal  bestowment  is  an  indispensable  accom- 
paniment of  the  believer  in  the  accomplishment 
of  his  mission."  If  Jesus  needed  this  enduement 
of  power  in  order  to  do  his  work,  how  much 
more  do  we  need  it  in  order  to  execute  the  mis- 
sion he  has  laid  upon  us !  We  are  to  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit,  not  merely  to  comfort  us,  though  he 
does  that;  not  merely  to  teach  us,  though  he 
does  that ;  not  merely  to  strengthen  us  in  temp- 
tation, though  he  does  that, — but  to  be  all  that 
he  was  in  Jesus  Christ.  When  Jesus  first  opened 
his  mouth  in  the  synagogue  and  before  the  peo- 
ple, after  coming  from  the  wilderness,  he  said: 
"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he 
hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
poor;  he  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken- 
hearted, to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives, 
and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at 
liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  ac- 
ceptable year  of  the  Lord."  (Luke  iv,  i8,  19.) 
He  received  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  purpose  of 
being  of  use  to  other  people. 

That  is  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  every 
believer.    Jesus  was  sent  to  save  the  world ;  so  is 


Be  Filled  with  the  Spirit  303 

the  believer  sent  to  do  the  same  thing.  And 
because  sent  to  this  high  calling,  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  promised  to  each,  in  order  that  he  may  serve 
a  good  service,  and  execute  the  commission  he 
is  under.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  here.  Wonderful 
fact !    Believe  it ;  act  upon  it. 


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